President Bola Tinubu has congratulated the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for successfully retaining the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Maturity Level 3 (ML3) status for the regulation of medicines and vaccines.
The WHO reaffirmed the rating after a re-benchmarking exercise conducted from May 28 to 30, 2025, assessing NAFDAC’s operations against international regulatory standards.
The agency first achieved ML3 in 2022, becoming the first national regulatory authority in Africa to attain the milestone for the regulation of medicines and vaccines in non-producing countries.
According to WHO’s verdict, “NAFDAC has successfully maintained a regulatory system that operates as a stable, well-functioning, and integrated framework for regulating medicines and vaccines (non-producing).
This achievement results from investment by the Government of Nigeria in strengthening the regulatory system.
”In a statement issued on Monday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu commended NAFDAC’s management and staff for their professionalism and consistency, describing the achievement as “a boost to Nigeria’s credibility in global health security and pandemic preparedness.”
Reaffirming his administration’s commitment to healthcare reform, the President said, “We will continue to enhance Nigeria’s capacity to ensure the safety, quality, and efficacy of medicines and vaccines in line with international best practices.
This milestone complements our Renewed Hope Agenda to transform the healthcare system.”Tinubu highlighted ongoing reforms in the health sector, including the upgrade of over 17,000 primary healthcare centres nationwide, improvements in maternal care and diagnostics in underserved communities, training of 120,000 frontline health workers, and efforts to double national health insurance coverage within three years.
He also pledged Nigeria’s continued collaboration with credible partners, development agencies, and donor organisations to strengthen the pharmaceutical sector, attract investments in health-related industries, and expand local manufacturing capacity.
The President assured that his administration will continue supporting NAFDAC in its quest to achieve WHO’s Maturity Level 4 — the highest global regulatory rating.
