On 1 February 2023, IPSF submitted a statement at the 152nd session of the Executive Board at the World Health Organization in Geneva. The statement was delivered on behalf of AMATA for the agenda item related to substandard and falsified medical products.

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The International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation - IPSF on behalf of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Treaty Alliance, thank you for the opportunity to make this statement.

We agree and support the draft list of prioritized activities to implement the workplan of the Member State mechanism for the period 2022–2023.  In particular the objective to strengthen the capacity of national/regional regulatory authorities for the prevention and detection of, and response to, substandard and falsified medical products.

The African Medicines Agency (AMA) creates an unprecedented opportunity for improved regulatory reliance and strengthening resulting in improved security of supply chains to better fight against substandard and falsified medicines.

The WHO estimated that 42 percent of all fake medicines reported to the WHO from 2013 to 2017 came from Africa.

A strong unified and coordinated regulatory system would greatly contribute to combating falsified and substandard medicinal products on the African continent by means of enhanced market surveillance, centralised information collection and sharing of data between countries.

We believe it is critical to operationalize the African Medicines Agency.This new agency is an integral part of the WHO Global Patient Safety Plan 2020-2030 and its implementation should go hand in hand with awareness raising, political engagement and health system strengthening initiatives.