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Paidamoyo Chipunza Senior Reporter
Zimbabwe is set to host an international scientific conference on medical products regulation in Africa, which is expected to deliberate on various issues including regulatory harmonisation, a top Government official has said.

The fourth biennial conference, dubbed the Scientific Conference on Medical Products Regulation in Africa (SCoMRA), will run from September 30 to October 1 under theme “A decade of regulatory harmonisation in Africa, where are we and where do we go from here?”

Addressing journalists in Harare yesterday, Secretary for Health and Child Care Dr Agnes Mahomva said the conference is aimed at taking stock on progress in relation to regulation of medical products in Africa.

“This meeting will bring together key stakeholders such as regulators, policymakers, academia, the scientific community, private sector and civil society from across Africa, to discuss progress made over the last decade of regulatory harmonisation, co-ordinated through the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation (AMRH) initiative, identify barriers to effective and efficient regulatory systems in Africa and map a way forward, with a particular focus on the new African Medicines Agency (AMA), following the adoption of the AMA Treaty by the AU Assembly in February this year, and subsequent signing by five AU Member States,” said Dr Mahomva.

The SCoMRA is organised by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ), in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Child Care.

It has been held every two years since 2013.