Afghanistan to meet 50% of pharmaceutical needs in next two years: AFDA

Officials at Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority (AFDA) said during an accountability report on Saturday that Afghanistan will be able to meet more than 50% of the country’s pharmaceutical needs by establishing manufacturing factories in the next two years.

“Our great effort is to industrialize the treatment, food and medical equipment sector. We have to work in our country. In the past year, we have given licenses to dozens of factories that are being built and operate inside Afghanistan,” said Abdul Bari Omar, acting head of AFDA.

Omar also said that currently, 58 factories producing medical products are active in the country, which covers more than 20% of the market’s pharmaceutical needs.

AFDA officials have also announced the creation of the food safety law, which, if approved, will prevent the importation of low-quality and expired consumable goods into the country.

Over the past year, the department has closed down 771 pharmacies in Kabul due to the presence of expired, low-quality, and smuggled drugs. The department has also destroyed almost 300 tons of medicines and unsafe food, officials said.

Meanwhile, the officials said that in the past year, 2,227 manufacturing factories, importing companies and pharmacies have received operating licenses.

In the meantime, the construction of four well-equipped pharmaceutical and food laboratories in four zones of the country, registration of new pharmaceutical facilities, support of domestic production, as well as close monitoring of the country’s customs and pharmacies are said to be among the major tasks of this department this year.