FDA appeals to Ghanaians to volunteer information

An official of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has appealed to the public to assist the Authority to clamp down on violators of the Food and Drugs Law.

Mrs. Akua Owusua Amartey, acting Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Medical Devices (MDs), Cosmetics and Household Chemicals Division of FDA made the appeal in Sunyani to end a day’s stakeholders’ education and sensitization training workshop sponsored by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom.

The event, on the theme “National Training on MDs Regulation in Ghana” was attended by more than 50 participants from health facilities and Municipal and District Health Directorates in the Brong-Ahafo Region.

It was the second in a nationwide Regional stakeholders’ workshops being organized by the FDA about the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), Food and Drugs Law as it relates to MDs regulatory requirements to ensure best practices in the procurement, sale and use of MDs.

The first was held at Ho in the Volta Region.

Mrs. Amartey emphasised that MDs were very vital components of the nation’s health delivery system because faulty and sub-standard devices would not give accurate results of medical tests, so far as diagnostic kits were concerned.

She stressed that it was the responsibility of every Ghanaian to assist the FDA by volunteering information to facilitate the achievement of its legitimate mandate of monitoring and bringing to book the violators of the Food and Drugs Law.

Mrs. Amartey explained that the FDA could not do it alone because of inadequate staff and therefore implored laboratory scientists, technologists, technicians and all other stakeholders to cooperate with the FDA by reporting on expired MDs and violations of regulations for the Authority to act timely and appropriately.

Mr. Matthew Gyan Nkum, Brong-Ahafo Regional Manager of FDA, pleaded with the participants and the general public to always give accurate information to assist in the authority’s post-market surveillance exercises.

He assured that the FDA would professionally and ethically not disclose the identities of those who would volunteer information to them.