The East African Community (EAC) is pushing Burundi to catch up with the rest of the fellow members in the regional bloc in the development of its pharmaceutical sector.

Under the programme, the country which joined EAC in 2007, will be assisted to fast-track the enactment and implementation of the Burundi National Pharmaceuticals Regulation Law that is currently before the Parliament. The government is also being implored to establish and operationalise the once proposed national regulatory body for the pharmaceutical industry, Abrema to effectively oversee regulation of food and medicinal products.

“Burundi is still lagging behind thus denying the country the benefits of the harmonised EAC regional guidelines and standards for medicines evaluation and registration,” said the secretary general, Amb Liberat Mfumukeko.

He was speaking in Bujumbura on Thursday during a high level meeting convened by the government authorities in collaboration with the EAC on how the country can be supported in strengthening its pharmaceutical sector.

Amb Mfumukeko said while the other Community member countries have made progress in developing the sector, the result is minimal in Burundi apparently due to technical and governance issues.

Burundi, he further argued, should establish relevant institutions to manage its pharmaceutical industry as well as strengthen and expand the governance and regulation of health professionals.

The regulatory institutions proposed include the Burundi National Health Professions Body (BNHPA), Burundi National Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Burundi National Medical Laboratory Scientists, Technologists and Technicians Board.

Others are the Burundi National Allied Health Professionals Council while calls are being made to strengthen the existing Burundi Medical and Dental Practitioners Council. The minister in the Office of the President responsible for EAC Affair Isabelle Ndahayo said her country would work closely with the bloc to develop its nascent drug sector.

These would, among other things, include harmonization of drug registration procedures “so as to achieve good control of pharmaceutical standards without impeding or obstructing the movement of pharmaceutical products within the Community”.

According to a report released by the Federation of the East African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (FEAPM), the EAC has the highest pharmaceutical sales growth compared with the other regions in Africa.

The pharmaceutical sales in the region, the Arusha-based body said in a report obtained by The Citizen late last year, will have an estimated compound annual growth rate of 12.4 per cent in the next five years.

The market is currently estimated at $ 5.3 billion.

Industry players contend, however, that pharmaceutical manufacturers operating within the EAC region produce at a cost disadvantage to larger generic product manufacturers internationally due a variety of reasons such as scale and expensive asset base.

Source: The Citizen