The government of Burkina Faso has formally installed the first leaders of the Faso Food and Drug Administration (Faso FDA), a new agency that merges pharmaceutical and food safety regulation under one authority.
Dr Alfred Ouédraogo has been appointed President of the Board of Directors (PCA) and Dr Arsène Ouédraogo named Director General. Both appointments were made by the Council of Ministers on 17 September 2026 and formalised at an installation ceremony in Ouagadougou on 29 September 2026, presided over by Dr Joël Arthur Kiendrebéogo, Secretary General of the Ministry of Health.
Faso FDA was created through the merger of the Agence nationale de régulation pharmaceutique (ANRP) and the Agence nationale pour la sécurité sanitaire de l’environnement, de l’alimentation, du travail et des produits de santé (ANSSEAT). As a non-hospital public health establishment, it assumes responsibility for regulating, quality controlling and monitoring pharmaceutical and food products for human and animal use.
The agency’s mandate includes granting marketing authorisations, inspecting establishments, regulating prices, controlling advertising, and combating falsified health products. It will also contribute to standard-setting and cooperate internationally.
Dr Arsène Ouédraogo announced plans for structured inter-institutional cooperation with customs, police, gendarmerie, commerce, agriculture and environment services, as well as professional orders, to manage alerts effectively.
The Secretary General of the Ministry of Health stated the government’s ambition is to make Faso FDA “an institution of reference at national, regional and African level, fully participating in the construction of our health sovereignty.”
Sources
- Primary: Agence nationale de régulation pharmaceutique (ANRP) — https://anrp.bf/fr/appGestion/listeCategoriePublic/dfcb9d82-dc6d-4a4c-b717-f91938f5b79f/
