GHANA – Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has introduced an all-inclusive capacity strengthening programme, which is underway in Accra, and will also be held in Kumasi, to brush up its enforcement activities across the country.
The programme forms part of efforts to safeguard public health and safety, amid global increased criminal activities.
Intended to cover all staff of FDA Enforcement Directorate, it includes training in intelligence and investigations, covering areas such as criminal intelligence analysis, criminal investigations and strategic intelligence analysis.
Speaking at the opening ceremony in Accra, Dr Mrs. Akua Owusu Amartey, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) in charge of Technical Operations, said the authority was poised in ensuring that the staff were equipped with the best of skills, knowledge and tools to efficiently discharge their duties.
She said that in this era of advanced technology and open international market, where businesses and brands were susceptible to imitations and manipulations, the ability to effectively enforce regulatory clauses was dependent on the ability to decipher, analyze and evaluate criminal intelligence-related information, and make succinct inferences, deductions and conclusions.
“The demand for this know-how has necessitated the need for this training in Criminal Intelligence and Investigation for staff of the Enforcement Directorate to step up their operational performances in enforcement activities,” Dr Amartey stated.
Indicating that it was the first time the Authority’s Enforcement Directorate’s staff was having such training, she noted that the training had modules, including the Introduction to Criminal Intelligence Analysis, which had six iterations for six groups of thirty each.
“Your participation in the subsequent modules would be subject to your knowledge-based performance in the previous module training you participated in,” Dr Amartey added.
She hinted that the FDA had attained World Health Organisation (WHO)’s maturity level three in medical products regulations and the strive for a level four maturity was attainable, as reported by The Ghanaian Times.
Dr Amartey noted that though WHO maturity was related to medical regulations, the tenacity to carry out their regulatory mandate effectively, would influence and facilitate the attainment of level four maturity in no time.
“The demand for this know-how has necessitated the need for this training in Criminal Intelligence and Investigation for staff of the Enforcement Directorate to step up their operational performances in enforcement activities.”
She underscored that the Authority with the right expertise and without any manipulation could control the import, manufacturing, and advertising of all human-related consumables by strictly and firmly implementing and enforcing regulatory clauses backed by the country’s constitution.
“This training is a wake-up call for proactive steps to address and build capacity to mitigate regulatory challenges. Let us use this opportunity to add value to our essence,” said the DCEO.
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