AFDA orders quality control tests on all imported food and drugs

Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority (AFDA) says foodstuff and medicines will only be allowed to enter the country through customs once quality control tests have been carried out. 

Abdul Bari Omar, Director of AFDA, said in a meeting in Kabul that one of the goals of this department is to provide people with access to better quality food, and standard drugs.

Omar also said that in the near future, the export of medicine from Afghanistan to countries abroad will start soon. He said the authority has also developed a procedure that prevents the smuggling of medicines into the country.

AFDA officials added that over the past 18 months, they have issued licenses to 10 factories and destroyed more than 342 tons of low-quality food.

According to AFDA, during this period, there has been a serious fight against drug smuggling, and laboratories will also start working to separate halal from haram.

In addition, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Qudratullah Jamal said at the meeting that Afghanistan now manufactures 50 different medicines and the hope is that this figure will total 100 by the end of the year. 

He has asked businessmen and investors to invest in the pharmaceutical industry in the country.

The people of Afghanistan meanwhile spend $500 million annually on medical treatment abroad due to the poor standard of healthcare across the country.