Monrovia, Liberia — December 12 (ANI): India and Liberia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation on pharmacopoeia and medicine quality standards, a move intended to align regulatory practices and improve access to safe, effective and affordable medicines.
The agreement was signed in Monrovia by India’s Ambassador to Liberia, Manoj Bihari Verma, and Liberia’s Health Minister, Dr. Louise M. Kpoto. According to Liberia’s Ministry of Health, the MoU will promote shared quality standards and deepen the two countries’ health partnership.
The Embassy of India in Monrovia said the arrangement will enable Liberia to adopt the Indian Pharmacopoeia as a reference for medicine quality. This is expected to strengthen regulatory collaboration between the nations and enhance the availability of medicines that meet recognized safety and efficacy benchmarks.
The Ministry of AYUSH explained that pharmacopoeias are official compendia setting quality standards for drugs that are imported, manufactured, stored or distributed. Pharmacopoeial monographs define requirements for identity, purity and strength using botanical identification, physico-chemical criteria and specific assays for active constituents or marker compounds.
They also prescribe analytical techniques for detailed profiling, including High Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography (HPTLC), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Gas Chromatography (GC), UV-Visible spectrophotometry, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma methods (ICP-AES/ICP-MS). Limits are established for heavy and toxic metals, pesticide residues, aflatoxins and microbial contamination to ensure product safety.
Officials say the MoU is a step toward regulatory alignment and improved public health outcomes by harmonizing standards and testing approaches. It is expected to facilitate better quality control, regulatory oversight and market access for medicines in Liberia while strengthening bilateral cooperation in the health sector.
(Report sourced from a syndicated feed and published as received.)
