Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Senior Health Reporter
Authorities from the Uganda National Drug Authority are in Zimbabwe on a five-day benchmarking visit to learn from the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ), which has been assessed for the World Health Organisation’s Maturity Level 4 status.
The visit seeks to strengthen regulatory processes, with a particular focus on digitalisation, medicine registration, and communication with stakeholders.
Uganda National Drug Authority Public Relations and Communication Officer, Mr Kalungi Fred Kabuye, said the exchange would help the authority identify practices it could adopt to improve its operations and work towards attaining Level 4 status.
“We wanted to look at that particular market that gave them a milestone to be qualified by WHO,” he said. “When it comes to their documentation system, you find that they are very much digitalised, which simplifies the work for the client.”
Mr Kabuye said the two regulatory agencies would also share experiences in areas such as enforcement and the decentralisation of services, noting that Uganda operates 10 regional offices to bring services closer to the public.
