Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — 10 July 2026
Four technical staff from the Somalia Medicines and Health Products Authority have completed a five-day on-the-job training programme on the evaluation and assessment of medicine dossiers, hosted by the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority (EFDA) in Addis Ababa from 6 to 10 July 2026.
The training was requested by the Authority as part of its drive to fully operationalize the regulatory Systems including registration and market authorization and this was supported and funded under the Damal Caafimaad Project of the Federal Ministry of Health and Human Services.
Practical mentorship at the center of the programme
The programme was opened with remarks from Dr. Sharmarke Sharif, Deputy Director General for the Medical Device Sector at the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority, and Dr. Farah Sharawe, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Somalia Medicines and Health Products Authority. Both underscored the importance of regulatory capacity strengthening and the value of technical collaboration and knowledge sharing between the two institutions.
The opening sessions covered EFDA’s institutional framework and registration practices, along with its Quality Management System, with particular attention to documentation control, standard operating procedures, and the mechanisms that keep regulatory decisions consistent.
The EFDA technical experts provided direct mentorship to the participants, which they carried out application screening, scientific review, use of institutional assessment tools, and the drafting of standardized regulatory observations and queries.
The delegation also toured EFDA’s quality control laboratories, visiting the analytical testing, medical devices, microbiology, and quality assurance sections to see how laboratory evaluation feeds into market authorization decisions.
In conclusion the formal closing session featured remarks from Heran Gerba, Director General of the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority, and Dr. Farah Sharawe, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Somalia Medicines and Health Products Authority. Both recognized the successful completion of the intensive programme and reaffirmed their commitment to continued bilateral collaboration, ongoing knowledge transfer, and further strengthening of regulatory capacity.
The training establishes a core team of trained assessors within the Authority and marks a significant step towards standardizing medicines registration and market authorization in Somalia strengthening the systems that safeguard the quality, safety, and efficacy of medicines reaching the Somali public.
