In sub-Saharan Africa, bringing safe and high-quality veterinary products and vaccines to market often involves navigating complex, time-consuming, and resource-intensive regulatory processes.
This challenging process presents a significant barrier to private sector investment and undermines the sustainable supply of high-quality, safe, and effective livestock health products. This situation adversely affects regulators, product manufacturers, and ultimately, small-scale producers by limiting their access to high-quality veterinary products that are essential for the care and treatment of their livestock. This in return compromises food security and safety, diminishes animal health and productivity, and impacts farmers’ livelihoods.
An improved policy and regulatory environment that facilitates the successful transformation of research products into sustainable animal health solutions for small-scale livestock producers is crucial to achieving GALVmed’s mission and ensure availability of safe and efficacious veterinary products in sub-Saharan Africa.
Since 2011, the East African Community (EAC) with support from GALVmed, and HealthforAnimals have been implementing the EAC’s Mutual Recognition Procedure system (EAC MRP), which simplifies the registration process by allowing applicants to apply simultaneously for licences in multiple countries. Now, a new project to be implemented in collaboration with the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the EAC, and the UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate (UK-VMD), and with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), is set to further improve the regulatory systems in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Challenges of Veterinary Medicines Regulation in Africa
The Better Regulation Project Vision
GALVmed & Partners
The Better Regulation project will support the establishment of a long-term governance structure for cooperation between veterinary regulatory agencies. It will further develop and promote the adoption of a self-assessment tool to help regulators strengthen their capacities. Additionally, the project will improve the efficiency and sustainability of the EAC MRP. All these activities are expected to create a more effective regulatory environment for veterinary medicines.
Improving the regulatory systems for veterinary medicines across Africa will ensure that quality, safe, and effective veterinary products are available on the continent in a timely manner. This will contribute to improved animal health, livestock production, and livelihoods.