VMP
Working towards regulatory convergence and harmonisation of registration of veterinary products for prudent and responsible use
September 19, 2019
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The use of high-quality veterinary products is essential for the advancement of the livestock industry. Access to safe and effective vaccines are important animal disease prevention tools. The development and testing of these vaccines, based on international standards, and their regulation and approval, are key to their utility. Good quality vaccines instill confidence in their use for the prevention of animal diseases and reduce the need to use antimicrobials. Similarly, the accurate concentration of active ingredients is an essential characteristic of a veterinary medicinal product, as the amount of active ingredient allows for determining the intensities of treatment and toxicity of that medicine.
However, the access and use of substandard and falsified veterinary products (SFVP) are widespread and have a significant negative impact on animal health, such as vaccination campaigns, treatment failure, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
To address this, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) is developing a Veterinary Monitoring and Surveillance System for Substandard and Falsified Veterinary Products (VSAFE). VSAFE aims to receive notifications of SFVP from Members and its network and to subsequently inform and support Member countries to facilitate their identification and eventual removal from circulation.
The workshop was held from 4-8 March 2025, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
This regional workshop provided an opportunity for countries to review and share their experiences in registration, utility and access to high-quality vaccines as well as to highlight the impacts of SFVP and how VSAFE can be used for the benefit to their members in a coordinated manner.
The workshop had the following objectives:
Emphasize the importance of vaccination for animal disease prevention and access to quality-assured vaccines.
Bring awareness of the impacts and harms of SFVPs in countries.
Share the progress made by WOAH’s work towards the development of VSAFE.
Understand the country mechanisms to monitor and detect SFVP, with the intention of increasing the number of WOAH Member Countries in Africa reporting to VSAFE.
Encourage coordination between WOAH Focal Points of Veterinary Products and contact points of the Regulatory Authority responsible for veterinary products.
Advocate for collaboration between different regulatory authorities, including WOAH partners, in sharing reports of substandard and falsified veterinary medicinal products
The main outcomes of the workshop were:
A better understanding and increased commitment by Members to contribute to VSAFE.
Enhanced gathering of information on the in-country situation related to VP quality (i.e., legislation and tools in place for detecting SFVPs, laboratory capacity) to understand the needs from members to prevent, detect, and respond to SFVPs.
Members to leverage VSAFE to include actions against SFVP in their National Action Plans on AMR.
Improved VSAFE performance.
Increased number of members voluntarily enrolled in VSAFE.
Increased quality of information reported through VSAFE.
Trust gained and data shared to support the prevention, detection, and response to SFVP by responsible actors.
The participants for the workshop included WOAH Focal Points for veterinary products, and members from the National Medicines Regulatory Authorities (NMRAs) responsible for post market surveillance of the quality of veterinary products the English-speaking African countries (including the host country, Tanzania).
Other partners not limited to AU-PANVAC, WHO, FAO, GALVmed, VSF, PAFO, Health for Animals, WCO, and Interpol were also invited as resource persons.
Present countries represented included:
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