DODOMA: TANZANIA Medicines and Medical Devices Authority (TMDA) has said it is proud of five major international achievements, including reaching the third level of Competence in Medicines Control Systems (WHO ML3 – the first country in Africa in 2018).
Other achievements are the Laboratory being recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), becoming the Faculty of Medicines Registration and Vaccine Control in Africa, its laboratory being used as a training faculty for other authorities in Africa, the certification of its systems to ISO 9001:2015 and in the case of the Laboratory, ISO/IEC 17025:2015.
The Director General stated this, Dr. Adam Fimbo, while presenting a topic on the history, development, and strategies for strengthening the control of pharmaceutical products, medical devices, and reagents before the Standing Committee of the Parliament on Health and AIDS Affairs in Parliament in Dodoma.
He said that TMDA is proud of the great achievements made since the Authority was established in 2003.
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For his part, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and AIDS Affairs, Dr. Johannes Lukumay, has called on the Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority (TMDA) to put in place sustainable strategies for the management and control of medicines and medical devices to improve the effectiveness of services to Tanzanians.
Dr. Lukumay said that increasing the speed of monitoring and control of counterfeit products is an important step, noting that such products contribute significantly to the deterioration of the health of the people.
He has also advised having a procedure not to keep executives in the same position for more than 10 years to strengthen the accountability and effectiveness of the institution for some executives as well as to avoid indicators that could lead to a conflict of interest.
He has also commended TMDA for obtaining a clean bill of health, saying that the step shows good financial accountability and the implementation of responsibilities in accordance with the law and procedures. He added that the authority has been performing well in the implementation of its responsibilities as well as providing various trainings to stakeholders and staff, which contributes to strengthening the control of medicines and medical devices in the country.
For her part, the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Florence Samizi, said the Government, through TMDA, continues to carry out its responsibilities, including conducting inspections and monitoring of products after registration, issuing licenses and permits for the trade of medicines, medical devices, and reagents, as well as controlling the import and export of products within and outside the country.
She added that TMDA also controls commercial advertisements of controlled products, monitors the side effects of products (vigilance), and monitors the quality of products available in the market to protect public health.
Contributing to the topic, Buchosha MP, Eric Shigongo, called on the Authority to impose severe penalties on those found to be selling or distributing substandard and counterfeit medicines.