The Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority (TMDA) and the Tanzania Police Force have stepped up cooperation to combat counterfeit and substandard medicines and other regulated products entering and circulating in the country.
The strengthened partnership is intended to tighten enforcement at entry points and across the supply chain, from importation and distribution to retail outlets, as authorities seek to protect the public from products that could endanger human and animal health.
Speaking during a joint working session between TMDA and the Police in Dar es Salaam, TMDA Director General Adam Fimbo said collaboration between the two institutions was critical to ensuring that medicines, medical devices, diagnostic reagents and tobacco products available to consumers meet required standards.
“Our major responsibility is to ensure that these products are of good quality, safe and effective for use by humans and animals,” Mr Fimbo said.
He said no regulated product should enter the country without first being registered and assessed by TMDA to establish its quality, safety and effectiveness.
The authority also conducts regular inspections of wholesale and retail outlets and other distribution points to identify products that have not been registered or authorised for sale in Tanzania.
According to Mr Fimbo, samples collected during inspections are submitted to TMDA laboratories for scientific testing to determine whether they meet prescribed standards.
The same process applies to products seized by the Police during investigations and operations, with laboratory findings providing technical evidence that can be used in criminal proceedings.
“When the Police seize various samples, they bring them to us to verify whether they meet the required quality standards. The findings enable us to provide evidence that can be used in different cases in court,” he said.
Mr Fimbo said products found to be substandard are removed from the market and destroyed at designated facilities to prevent them from being returned to circulation.
He added that TMDA works with the Police and other government institutions at border entry points to prevent the illegal importation of medicines and other regulated products.
The Dar es Salaam meeting brought together senior police officers, including regional commanders from Temeke, Kinondoni and Ilala, as well as regional criminal investigation officers.
Mr Fimbo said the meeting marked part of a broader initiative by TMDA to establish regular engagements with the Police, similar to the authority's outreach programmes with journalists in its zones.
“We saw the need to establish this arrangement so that we can meet, build mutual understanding and jointly discuss how to control these products,” he said.
TMDA operates through eight zones across the country and plans to conduct similar meetings annually, according to Mr Fimbo, to strengthen understanding of the respective mandates of the two institutions and improve enforcement of laws governing regulated products.
Besides regulating medicines and medical devices, TMDA oversees clinical trials involving animals and conducts public education on the safe use of medicines and other products under its mandate.
The authority said closer cooperation with law enforcement agencies will strengthen the detection, testing, seizure and removal of counterfeit and substandard products from the market, helping safeguard public health.