Sub-regional economic organizations in the development of pharmaceutical regulation : case of west Africa

Abstract

In West Africa, pharmaceutical regulations harmonization process is characterized by initiatives on one hand separate and specific to Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) and on the other to West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). The present study which aims at contributing to pharmaceutical regulation optimization reveals that ECOWAS has essentialy elaborated guidelines while WAEMU by taking advantage of the strength and scope of legal standards available and opposable to member states succeeded to get tangible results. Pharmaceutical regulation optimization involves taking into account other reglementary functions not sufficiently regulated and in an active cooperation between both organisations reinforced by African Union intervention. This permits to build an approach including the creation of a west african agency for medecine and the implementation of inovatives sources of funding, whith the ultimate goal to promote access of populations to good quality medecines.