FDA not out to frustrate businesses – Regional Head  

Mr Abel Ndego, the Acting Upper East Regional Head of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), says the mandate of the Authority is not to frustrate businesses.  

He said the Authority’s mandate was rather to help business operators to grow their businesses within the framework of regulation, saying, “As long as we work together to ensure public health and safety, you can always be assured that you will do your business without stress.”  

Mr Ndego told pharmacy and Over-The-Counter (OTC) medicine sellers at a day’s workshop organized by the FDA to sensitize them on the Authority’s guidelines for pharmacy and OTC medicine operators to promote public health and safety through responsible retail practices.  

He said if the operators engaged in acts that threatened public health and safety, they could be sure that the FDA would deal with them, and appealed to them to work within the framework of the law.  

“Avoid any form of illegal activities. We have visited facilities and seen OTCs and some pharmacies dispensing tramadol above 100milligram (mg) strength. Tramadol used to be an OTC medicine, but it is now a controlled drug. So there is no way an OTC is expected to dispense tramadol,” he said.  

Mr Ndego said the only tramadol strength approved by the FDA in Ghana were the 50 and 100mg, and that there was a total ban on any dosage strength above 100mg in Ghana.  

He noted that only pharmacy shops were accredited to dispense the 50 and 100mg of tramadol, adding that it must be dispensed to persons with valid prescriptions by qualified medical officers.  

“In fact per the guidelines that Parliament has approved for tramadol regulation, even with prescription, the prescriber must indicate not just his name, but his membership number and if it’s found out that the prescriber is not in good standing, that prescription becomes invalid.  

“That is how serious the regulation is now. And so for a medical doctor to issue a prescription for tramadol, they must be sure that the person needs it. Now the law is getting more stringent that when we get you with tramadol, is not enough to just fine you. They are pushing for prosecution,” the Acting Head said.  

Mr Ndego said even though the FDA had prosecuted some people, it was not a pleasant process.  

“It is not something we enjoy doing at all. We always want to make sure that we have a very cordial relationship with our clients.”  

Some participants who spoke to the Ghana News Agency after the training, described the initiative by the FDA as “educative and eye-opening”, and called for more of such training programmes to enhance regulatory compliance.  

Ms Gloria Akos Amoh, an OTC medicine seller, said, “I have learnt a lot, especially on the issue of tramadol, and my memory is refreshed on some of the guidelines and regulations. It was a very impactful training programme.”  

Source: GNA  

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