Developing a continental regulatory training hub in Ghana

According to African Union’s development agency, AUDA-NEPAD, more than 90 percent of national regulatory authorities in Africa lack capacity to provide effective oversight of medicines and medical products. In addition, only six regulators in Africa achieved WHO Maturity Level 3 (ML3), the mark of a stable, well-functioning regulatory system.

What’s at stake

Strong regulatory systems are critical to improving access to safe, quality-assured medical products. As a regulator operating at Maturity Level 3, the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) is well-positioned to serve as a center of excellence to help build regulatory capacity and workforce across the continent, while protecting patients from poor quality products.

Ghana FDA will share expertise with regulators across Africa to improve access to quality medicines and strengthen the broader regulatory environment.

Project at-a-glance

Timeline: 2024 – 2025
Donor: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Country: Ghana
Technical areas: Laboratory systems strengthening, Regulatory systems strengthening

Project goals and objectives

Train and empower national regulators to improve regulatory competencies, including pharmaceutical manufacturing oversight, clinical trials, market authorization, and quality control.
Analyze current training initiatives and conduct market research to identify key training needs and opportunities on the continent.
Develop a comprehensive strategy to establish Ghana FDA as a continental training hub that outlines goals, actions, and next steps, including creating a financial sustainability plan.
Develop key performance indicators to measure and track progress towards implementing the continental training strategy and achieving Ghana FDA’s goal of becoming an African training hub.

Key milestones

Assess training needs and capacity to highlight strengths, needs, and opportunities for regional and continental trainings.
Create a comprehensive strategy and monitoring and evaluation framework for the training hub that promotes sustainable financing and offers key recommendations.