Officials of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) have met with the University of Cape Coast over formalizing a consensus to commercialize or convert research findings of the University into policy briefs. This is to strengthen the FDA’s resolve to enhance public health safety.
The UCC team, led by the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mrs. Rosemond Boohene, welcomed the initiative by the FDA whose delegation was led by the Lead for its Research Department, Rev. Dr. Cheetham Mingle.
University of Cape Coast becomes the fourth university approached by the FDA for this collaboration.
In a presentation, Dr. Mingle indicated the FDA was collaborating with institutions with specific research interests in the Authority’s regulated products and general public health and safety of Ghanaians.
Though the Public Health Act 851:2012 Section 127C mandates the FDA to conduct research, he noted that collaborating with research institutions was the way forward citing financial constraints as one of the challenges confronting the Authority in holistically carrying out its explorative mandate.
“Researchers are doing research and it is in the archives of the universities. However, the FDA needs these researches to formulate policy briefs to enhance public health safety” he said.
Concerns
According to the FDA, poor coordination in the channel and approach of research findings dissemination among researchers, regulators and the media triggers fear and panic among the general population.
Dr. Mingle said media blast of sensitive research findings at the blind side of regulators poses severe restraints for tangible interventions to be made in the wake of the media and other Civil Society Organisations demanding responses from regulators.
He also raised the concern of the unavailability of known research findings to enhance regulatory practices and resolve regulatory challenges as well as the absence of a common platform for researchers and regulators to share ideas of common interest as difficulties confronting the Authority.
To the FDA, collaborating with research institutions will address these challenges and improve the well-being of the general Ghanaian population through heightened public health safety.
UCC commits to Collaboration
Responding to the collaboration agenda proposed by the FDA, Pro Vice–Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Boohene said UCC is committed to ensuring that research findings from the University are translated into various policies.
She noted that with the FDA being a major stakeholder of the University, the collaboration was highly deemed appropriate.
With UCC working to prove itself as an entrepreneurial training hub for students, she called on the FDA to expedite the clearance of product applications of students who have developed various products.
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Source: Akosua Akyeabea Sackey/DIS-UCC
