Nigeria has taken a significant step towards strengthening its health security by ratifying the African Medicines Agency (AMA) treaty. The ratification was announced by Ambassador A. Twum-Amoah, African Union Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, at the inaugural African Medicines Agency Week in Kigali, Rwanda. This development makes Nigeria the 34th member state of the African Union to deposit its instrument of ratification.
The African Medicines Agency Week, which took place from October 25 to 30, 2026, brought together medicines regulatory agencies from across the continent, representatives of Regional Economic Communities, the World Health Organisation, the European Union, and other development partners. The meeting aimed to promote a more coordinated and harmonised regulatory environment for medicines and medical products in Africa.
Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), highlighted the significance of Nigeria's ratification. As Africa's most populous country and one of its largest pharmaceutical markets, Nigeria's participation will reinforce efforts to build a robust regulatory framework. This, in turn, will help tackle substandard and falsified medical products, promote pharmaceutical innovation, and advance local manufacturing.
The ratification provides an opportunity for Nigeria to deepen collaboration with AMA and other national and regional regulatory institutions. This collaboration will be crucial in pursuing continental health objectives, including ensuring access to safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable medicines. Adeyeye emphasised that Nigeria's participation should translate into practical action through institutional collaboration, regulatory capacity development, information sharing, and scientific cooperation.
According to Adeyeye, the success of AMA will be measured by its ability to ensure that Africans have access to quality-assured and affordable medicines. This will be driven by the maturity of national regulatory agencies, such as NAFDAC. The treaty aims to promote health security, pharmaceutical sovereignty, and sustainable development in Africa.
Adeyeye noted that Nigeria's ratification is not merely a diplomatic or legal achievement but a significant investment in Africa's health security and pharmaceutical sovereignty. The ratification demonstrates Nigeria's commitment to protecting public health and advancing local manufacturing as part of health security and economic development.
The African Medicines Agency treaty aims to create a continental regulatory framework that will ensure the availability of safe, effective, and quality-assured medicines. By ratifying the treaty, Nigeria has demonstrated its commitment to this goal and is expected to play a key role in the implementation of the treaty.
Key points
- Nigeria becomes 34th member state to ratify African Medicines Agency treaty
- Ratification aims to strengthen regulatory environment for medicines and medical products
- Nigeria's participation expected to promote health security, pharmaceutical innovation, and local manufacturing
