The Bill was read by the chairperson of the committee Hon Amadou Camara, Member for Nianija Constituency on Tuesday at the National Assembly.
He stated that the proposed Medicines and Related Products (Amendment) Act, 2023 is designed to fix a serious problem in the current law, which makes it difficult to register quality medicines in The Gambia.
“Currently, even if a medicine is approved for use in places with high safety standards, such as America or Europe, it still faces a long and complicated process before it can be used here. Experts warn this could lead to shortages of essential drugs and create space for fake or low-quality products to enter the market,” he flagged.
He added that “manufacturers often ignore smaller markets like The Gambia because the process here is too slow and expensive.
“They prefer to register in big countries where they can sell more and recover their costs quickly.”
“To put this into perspective, the UK has over 67 million people, Nigeria 223 million, Ghana 34 million, Senegal 17.5 million, and Liberia 5.4 million. The Gambia, with just under 3 million people, is seen as a less profitable market.”
“The amendment hopes to change that by making the registration process easier for products already approved in countries with strong safety standards,” he underscored.
Lawmakers believe this will encourage more manufacturers to bring essential drugs into the country, especially those needed to save lives.
The bill is seen as a timely solution to an urgent problem ensuring that Gambians can access safe, high-quality medicine without unnecessary delays.
The bill is passed to read for the second time in parliament.
