West African Regulators Gather in Lomé to Tackle Illicit Veterinary Medicines
Monday, 30 June 2025 16:19 
- UEMOA, Togo, and veterinary drug companies met in Lomé to review reforms and tighten regulations.
- Since 2006, over 660 marketing authorizations have been issued, supported by CFA1 billion in funding.
- Illicit veterinary medicines still circulate widely, threatening animal health and food security.
West African veterinary regulators and pharmaceutical firms are meeting in Lomé this week to assess progress in controlling veterinary medicines across the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).
The three-day gathering—officially the 6th biennial information meeting—opened under the chairmanship of Togo’s State Minister Yark Damehame and UEMOA Commissioner Mahamadou Gado. Delegates are reviewing regional reforms aimed at harmonizing practices, strengthening public health safeguards, and improving the quality of animal healthcare products.
“This meeting is crucial,” said Dr. Kouadjo Théodore Domagni, UEMOA’s Director of Veterinary Medicines. “We cannot speak of livestock without talking about animal health, and we cannot speak of animal health without quality veterinary medicines.”
UEMOA first signed its veterinary medicine reforms in 2006 and operationalized them in 2010. One early obstacle was securing buy-in from pharmaceutical companies, but Domagni says collaboration has improved in recent years.
The conference comes as regional governments step up efforts to modernize livestock value chains and protect consumers against counterfeit treatments.
Since 2006, UEMOA has centralized the process of issuing marketing authorizations (AMM) for veterinary medicines at the Commission level. More than 660 authorizations have been granted. The bloc has also invested over CFA1 billion ($1.6 million) to train regulators, equip laboratories, and step up field inspections. Additional frameworks for quality control and pharmacovigilance have been implemented.
Despite these efforts, illicit and substandard veterinary medicines still circulate widely across the region, threatening animal health and food security. In many UEMOA countries, livestock contributes up to 38% of agricultural GDP.
