On 3-5 July, AU-PANVAC in collaboration with the Nigeria Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) and GALVmed organised in Abuja, Nigeria the workshop “Harmonization of Standards for Registration of Veterinary Vaccines and Certification of Vaccine Manufacturing Facilities in Africa”. The workshop sought to review the technical requirements and standards for registration of veterinary vaccines in Africa and the challenges faced by regulatory authorities and vaccine manufacturers with the purpose of building consensus on harmonisation of the standards for Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) vaccine registration across Africa.
The meeting was attended by over 60 participants representing WOAH, African Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Directors of Veterinary Services, national veterinary registration authorities, public and private vaccine manufacturers supplying PPR in Africa, and academia.
A major outcome of the meeting was the agreement that all Regional Economic Communities and national veterinary drug registration authorities will use the harmonised technical documents developed under the East African Community Mutual Recognition Procedure (EAC MRP) project to register all PPR vaccines in Africa. This means that the same requirements will be used by authorities and by manufacturers who seek to register PPR vaccines in all countries in Africa. This represents a significant milestone for GALVmed as the impact of the MRP project will be felt across Africa. From GALVmed, there is a hopeful anticipation that this requirement will eventually result in the same standards being used to register all veterinary vaccines in Africa. This recommendation will be presented to the policy making organs in the African Union for approval before the directive is issued to all countries and Regional Economic Communities.
Read our blog to learn more about GALVmed’s efforts to foster an enabling environment for sustainable adoption of animal health products by small-scale livestock producers: From lab to field: an enabling environment ensures innovation reaches farmers