A new step towards vaccine sovereignty
The Drug and Pharmacy Code will be amended. The most recent Government Council meeting adopted a draft decree-law to this effect. The piece of legislation will be published in the Official Gazette and submitted to Parliament for ratification during the next session.
In fact, this piece of legislation will shortly be presented by Khalid Ait Taleb before a parliamentary commission, pending the opening of the autumn session. Given the urgent need to put in place an effective and comprehensive legal framework, it was necessary to use the draft decree-law formula. «The aim of this legislation is to create a national system for the official release of batches of vaccines and serums for human use», reads the presentation note.
Security of supply of medicines and vaccines is one of the most important challenges highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic in our country. The pandemic revealed the need to guarantee the sustainability and availability of medicines, particularly vaccines, as a vital substance for coping with health crises and promoting healthcare. In this context, Morocco is seeking to achieve vaccine sovereignty by setting up a national industry to meet national and continental demand. As a reminder, HM the King launched the construction of a vaccine manufacturing plant in the Benslimane region, a transformative project that will ultimately contribute to ensuring the Kingdom’s and the African continent’s vaccine sovereignty. This industrial unit is part of the Royal vision to position Morocco as a key biotechnology hub in Africa and the world, capable of meeting the continent’s short- and long-term health needs. In order to keep pace with this industry, guarantee the quality of vaccines manufactured locally or imported, and check that they meet internationally recognized standards, Morocco is working to develop an effective and integrated legal framework that guarantees it will reach the third level of maturity (3- ML) in vaccine regulation. This is according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Benchmarking Tool. The aim is to be eligible for inclusion in the WHO list of regulatory bodies with maturity levels 3 and 4, according to the presentation note for the draft decree-law.
Mohamed CHAOUI
