The Rivers State Government owned Pan African Health Foundation Auto-Disable (AD) Syringe Factory has received the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Prequalification, accredited and certified as a manufacturer of syringes that meet the highest international quality and safety standards.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tamunoiyoriari Parker stated this while playing host to the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mr. Paul Orhi during a visit to the factory in Port Harcourt.
According to Dr. Parker, this is the first and only WHO pre-qualified manufacturer in Nigeria (and the whole of West and Central Africa Region), the second company in the whole of Africa, and only the sixteenth company in the World.
He said the AD Syringe are syringes that disable automatically after one use, thus preventing unsafe reuse that can spread blood- borne pathogens such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV-AIDS.
The Commissioner explained that to achieve an effective control for intradermal, subcutaneous and intramuscular needle injections, WHO recommends the use of only single-use injection devices, adding that a secure and safe supply is thus essential in other to reduce the infection risks associated with the re-use of injection devices in both therapeutic and preventive health care delivery.
Earlier, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Mr. Paul Orhi had expressed delight that the factory was approved by WHO which according to him shows that Nigeria has come of age and congratulated the Rivers State Government on this achievement.
He said with this pre-qualification the products can be sold and used all over the world, “for WHO to prequalify a company it also looks at the regulatory agency on ground which is a big endorsement for the work of NAFDAC.”
Also speaking the Executive Secretary of Pan African Health Foundation (PAHF), Mr. Amenya Wokoma said PAHF was honored to be selected by WHO as Nigeria’s first recipient of their POS certification.
The recognition, he added, validated the significant efforts put in to achieve world-class quality, safety and performance, with technology and factory systems that are at the leading edge of innovation and value.
The Executive Secretary declared,” our company believes that such a strategic focus is fundamental to achieving the optimal combination of product performance, quality and safety for delivering the best health care value to Nigerians and other Africans, adding that “PAHF’s effort, as validated by the WHO, has special significance since it is wholly African-led and owned”.
Engineer Wokoma said the WHO PUS award also gives validation to the Integrated Medical Industries Project, which PAHF is currently implementing with the same world class quality. ###
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