Watch: Pre-shipment inspection for medicine imports – Mozambique

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Watch: Pre-shipment inspection for medicine imports – Mozambique

6:03 CAT | 19 Jan 2018

Mozambique will inspect the medicines it imports in their country of origin before they are shipped, Health Minister Nazira Abdula announced on Friday.

Speaking at the launch in Maputo of the Pre-Shipment Inspection of Medicines project, Abdula said the scheme would begin in March with India, which is a major supplier of medicines to Mozambique.

“The testing of samples will confirm whether the product corresponds to the specifications of the dossier approved by the Ministry of Health”, she said.

As for products that are not yet registered, she said, verification will be through consulting the certificates of analysis presented by the manufacturer in its bid submitted when the import of medicines was put to tender.

“As from 1 February, we shall have an online platform available for registering all importers and exporters, including the makers of medicines”, she added.

Abdula stressed that, by testing medicines at their point of origin, the government will prevent the import of counterfeit or adulterated drugs.

“Testing the medicines while they are still in India will ensure that the government protects Mozambican citizens, by ensuring that only safe and good quality medicines are imported”, the Minister declared.

Controlling the quality of medicines, she said, is an important tool for guaranteeing that pharmaceutical products will not damage public health. She revealed that in 2017 the National Laboratory for Medical Quality Control analysed 106 drugs, of which 12 per cent “were regarded as unfit and were rapidly withdrawn from circulation”.