Considerably reducing administrative delays and travel costs for manufacturers, the Arp’s new online platform is directly in line with the guidelines of the National Transformation Agenda “Senegal 2050”.

By Amadou MBODJI – The Senegalese Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (Arp) yesterday officially launched, at the Pullman hotel in Dakar, its digital platform dedicated to the approval of medicines and other health products. This major innovation aims to simplify administrative procedures, reduce application processing times and make it easier for local and international manufacturers to access the agency’s services, while increasing the availability of safe, quality medicines.

Chairing the ceremony on behalf of the Minister of Health and Public Hygiene, Dr Ndèye Maguette Ndiaye hailed a strategic initiative, stressing the gains in efficiency and speed it brings: “A digital platform means faster processing. And if we gain speed, that means quality, safe medicines will be available to the population more quickly. It is a major advantage, not only for the pharmaceutical sector, but also for our local manufacturers,” she said.

End of physical submission and a successful pilot phase

Thanks to this digitalisation, users can now request all of the Arp’s services remotely, ending the requirement to submit files in person at the agency’s headquarters. “Previously, tonnes of physical documents had to be submitted to the Arp. Today, this platform saves time and money, because applicants no longer have to travel. This new approach was first tested with a few laboratories as part of a pilot phase that produced particularly convincing results,” the minister’s representative explained.

Alignment with the “Senegal 2050” vision

Part of the Health Sector Policy, this advance responds to the directives of the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, on the full digitalisation of public services, in line with the guidelines of the National Transformation Agenda “Senegal 2050”. “The Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene fully incorporates this momentum into its National Strategy for the Transformation of the Health System. We started with the electronic patient record and we are currently developing the National Computerised Centre to guide decision-making. It is in exactly the same spirit that the Arp has rolled out its tool,” added the Chief of Staff.

In the sights: WHO Maturity Level 4

The minister’s representative also recalled that the Arp has already achieved Maturity Level 3 awarded by the World Health Organization (WHO). A new formal assessment by the WHO is scheduled for December, this time covering the vaccines segment. If the results prove conclusive, the Arp could then reach Maturity Level 4, the highest international standard in pharmaceutical regulation.

ambodji@lequotidien.sn