As the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) unfolds, the Director General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mallam Farouk Salim, has called for the standardisation of traditional African medicinal products to boost their place in intra-African trade
The DG made the call yesterday in Abuja at the 13th technical meeting of the National Mirror/Technical Committee on African Traditional Medicine (ATM) hosted by SON.
He said, “ Standards are key in every product certification process, and the AfCFTA provides an avenue for Nigeria to benefit hugely in intra-African trade as the largest economy on the continent which is why the meeting has been convened again to discuss and articulate Nigeria’s position in the conclusion of twenty-four (24) draft standards in African Traditional Medicine (ATM) at the continental level.
“Some of the standards to be discussed today are part of the medicinal plants proposed by this esteemed committee at the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) TC82 meeting held at Kigali in May 2016, which has shown Nigeria’s prowess to a large extent at Continental level as we were able to drive the standardization activities to this point.”
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He further said that the agency, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health through the Department of Traditional and Complementary Medicine (TCAM), successfully marked the 2021 African Traditional Medicine Day with a view to reviewing and commenting on the draft standards to ensure its implementability in Nigeria when adopted.
He added that SON had all the technical support required to convey Nigeria’s submissions to the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) as required.
