President Bola Tinubu has congratulated the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for retaining its World Health Organisation (WHO) Maturity Level 3 (ML3) status for the regulation of medicines and vaccines.
In a statement by Presidential Spokesperson Bayo Onanuga on Monday in Abuja, Tinubu said the recognition reflected sustained government investment in strengthening NAFDAC’s regulatory capacity.
The WHO re-benchmarking exercise, held from May 28 to 30, assessed NAFDAC’s performance against global standards. The agency first achieved ML3 status in 2022, becoming the first African national regulatory authority for medicines and vaccines (non-producing) to reach the milestone.
The latest validation followed a formal re-benchmarking in November 2024 and five Institutional Development Plan review meetings between February and April 2025.
Tinubu commended NAFDAC’s leadership and staff for their dedication to public health, noting that the achievement bolsters Nigeria’s credibility in global health security and pandemic preparedness.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to achieving WHO Maturity Level 4, expanding health insurance coverage, boosting local drug production, upgrading healthcare facilities, and training 120,000 frontline workers as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
