05 Jun SAHPRA invests in capacity building – announcing new graduates
Pretoria, 5 June 2023 – The South Africa Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), in collaboration with Pharmacometrics Africa and The Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at the University of Witwatersrand, is pleased to announce the second cohort of graduates who successfully completed the short course for Clinical Assessors within African Regulatory Agencies.
The objective of developing this 12-week course was to address the critical skills gap in regulatory sciences on the African continent. The course, accredited by The University of Witwatersrand, was attended by participants from five (5) regulatory agencies – Ghana Food and Drugs Authority, Kenya’s Pharmacy and Poisons Board, Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, SAHPRA, Tanzania’s Medicines and Medical Devices Authority, the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe.
“This course will go a long way in addressing this critical skills gap on the continent. The second cohort of graduates certainly do us proud and will pave the way for future success and growth on the continent,” indicates SAHPRA CEO, Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela.
“The tutorial sessions in the course created a rich, mutually valuable learning environment for the regional and international faculty who endeavoured to discuss examples of work at the five participating African regulatory agencies. This assisted in contextualising international best practice of regulatory sciences with the local environment,” said Professor Colin Pillai, CEO of Pharmacometrics Africa.
“We, at the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at the University of the Witwatersrand, are thrilled to announce our enthusiastic involvement in this exceptional high quality programme, showcasing our unwavering commitment to supporting regulatory sciences vocational training in South Africa, and throughout the continent. We are committed to supporting regulatory sciences education across the continent and we are excited to have our staff in the Division of Pharmacy Practice actively engaged in this high-quality programme. It’s a testament to the calibre of our faculty and their dedication to the advancement of the field of regulatory sciences, and we are thrilled to see the impact that this programme will have on the regulatory landscape,” said Professor Yahya E. Choonara from Wits University.
View our virtual graduation video below.