Coalition of Interested Partners (CIP) reiterates support for strengthening medicine regulatory affairs during its third annual conference, held in Dhaka, between 23rd to 24th September 2018.
Addressing the conference as the Chief Guest, the Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mohammad Nasim M.P. called upon partners to continue their support for Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) in its objective to meet international standards in the regulation of pharmaceuticals.
The meeting was preceded by a five-day external mission from WHO headquarters resulting in a series of recommendations on concrete actions which need to be addressed in seeking international recognition of Bangladesh’s national regulatory authority for medical products.
The CIP is a unique initiative of WHO Bangladesh, being implemented for the first time by DGDA in 2016. CIP aims to coordinate activities with partners for strengthening the regulatory efforts for medical products. In the two-day conference, partners met to discuss their technical support to the DGDA for strengthening the national regulatory authority to ensure quality, safety and efficacy of medical products.
WHO Representative to Bangladesh Dr Bardan Jung Rana in his speech praised the DGDA for passing international standards for its national control laboratory. He also expressed hope that, through collective efforts, the laboratory will soon become a WHO internationally recognized one, which would boost confidence in DGDA’s regulatory capacity and promote regulatory cooperation with other countries.
The CIP, organized by DGDA with support from WHO was attended by the representatives of different development partners including Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), United States Pharmacopeia-Promoting the Quality of Medicines (USP-PQM), Financial Sector Support Project- Global Affairs Canada (FSSP-GAC) and Global Health Program Cycle Improvement Project (GH Pro).
Since the inception of CIP, much progress has been made by DGDA with support from national and international partners. Self-assessments using international WHO tools, national accreditation of Drug Test Laboratory or capacity building of DGDA staff on various important areas are just some of the achievements.
WHO is committed in continuing to provide its support to DGDA for further strengthening regulatory authority for medical products, as an essential pillar of a robust health system.