Dr. Samateh alledgedly Flies to Ghana to Negotiate Over $2million Drugs Testing Charges
Credible sources close to the Ministry of Health has informed this medium of the departure of Minister of Health, Dr. Ahmadou Lamin Samateh to Ghana with the hope to negotiate with the
Food and Drug Authority (FDA), of Ghana to reduce the over two million dollars ($2million) annual drugs testing charges for all government.
Our source, a senior official at the Ministry of Health disclosed that the Minister’s engagement with the Ghanian authorities to reduce the prices of testing a sample of drug that cost between $1000-$1, 400 does not include the private sector those pharmacy shelves are getting drier day by day.
The impromptu visit to Ghana by Minister Samateh, our source added is to negotiate with the Ghanaian authorities to scale down the $2million annual Drug Testing charges requested by the Food and Drug Authority (FDA), of Ghana to test all drugs coming from Gambia.
He revealed that The Gambia is currently facing health crisis since July of this year when fake and substandard drugs imported from India claims the lives of more than seventy (70) Gambia children who were infested with Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), adding that even though health authorities are mute over looming drugs shortages in the country triggered by new drug testing protocols imposed by the Ministry of Health.
“I can confirmed to you that Minister Samateh has concluded his visit to Ghana where he met his counterparts and officials of the Food and drugs Authority (FDA). He appealed to them to reduce the cost of drugs testing charges that may cost government more than $2million per annum to be able to test all its drugs in Ghana Food and Drugs Authority’s laboratory.
He added: “I think the Minister needs serious advice, outsourcing of quality control testing is very expensive and not sustainable by both private and public sectors. Ghana Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) laboratory is charging $1000 per every drug sample and $1,400 per every sample of syrup, government cannot afford this likewise the private.”
Our source further revealed that shortly after the AKI deaths the Ministry Health request that every medicine imported into the country must be tested before release for use, disclosing that officials of Medicnes Control Agency (MCA) challenged this decision highlighting all the implications and bottlenecks new policy may cost.
“MCA did submit these challenges in write up that were send to the Health Minister, Office of the President (OP) and National Assembly (NA) select commtee on Health highlighting all the implications and challenges. Testing drugs outside is a big challenge for the country and to me it all square down to Government’s failure to establish a quality control testing laboratory,” our source revealed.
He added: The MoH depending on the number of batches per medicine it could cost Government nore than $2million per year. For the private importers it may cost some who import assorted medicines from Europe and USA upto $200, 000 per month and for imports from other parts of the world it may cost $100,000 to $200,000 per month depending on the number of batches per medicine.”
The government supposed to pay . Let’s wait and see as all their medicines are under quarantine waiting to be tested. The authorities still are insisting on testing.