By Michael Gwarisa
Dr. Delese Mimi Darko has been appointed as the new Director General of the African Medicines Agency (AMA), marking a pivotal step toward strengthening health regulation and ensuring access to quality-assured medicines across Africa. With nearly three decades of experience in the medical and pharmaceutical fields, she brings deep expertise and a proven track record in medicine safety, regulation, and international collaboration.
Beginning her career as a pharmacist, Dr. Darko later earned a Master’s in Business Administration. Her regulatory journey has spanned 28 years, during which she advanced to become the first female Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in 2017. Her leadership transformed the FDA into a regional hub for excellence in medicine regulation, recognized across the African continent.
Among her notable achievements is Ghana’s early integration into the WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring, and the establishment of the country’s National Centre for Pharmacovigilance—one of the first in Africa. She also led pioneering efforts in regulating clinical trials, positioning Ghana as a leader in West Africa in this domain.
Dr. Darko has driven numerous regulatory innovations, including frameworks for advanced therapies, vaccines, and blood products—making Ghana the first sub-Saharan African country to implement nationwide regulation of blood and its derivatives. Her collaborative work with global regulatory bodies, including the UK’s MHRA, led to initiatives like community-based patient safety centers and the launch of the Med Safety App to improve medicine safety reporting.
Her efforts have attracted support from international partners such as WHO, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UKDFID, and GAVI. Under her leadership, the FDA earned designation as a Regional Center of Regulatory Excellence in clinical trials, drug registration, and pharmacovigilance.
Dr. Darko holds key roles on several global and African health committees, including the WHO African Vaccines Regulatory Forum and the WHO/CIOMS Committee on Vaccine Safety. Her work has been recognized with prestigious awards, such as the United Nations award for Non-Communicable Disease Prevention and Glitz Africa’s Woman of the Year in Health.
