Early-stage Reflection on Regulatory Frameworks, with Potential Alignment Toward International Traceability Standards
Mauritania is taking decisive steps to strengthen pharmaceutical governance and combat counterfeit and illicit medicines through a series of regulatory and digital transformation initiatives.
A significant milestone is Law No. 042-2025, where Article 2 explicitly states the objective of tracking medicines and other health products throughout the country, including digital traceability. This reflects a clear regulatory commitment to improving visibility across the pharmaceutical supply chain.
The Ministry of Health has also announced that it will establish a digital platform, in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Modernization of Administration, to register and track medicines. According to the Ministry, this initiative aims to make Mauritania one of the first countries to provide end-to-end visibility of medicines,from the moment they are requested by the Ministry until they reach the patient.
Another key measure is the establishment of a drug tracking system using unique serial numbers, allowing each product to be traced from importation to distribution. In addition, a digital platform and a mobile application will provide healthcare professionals, inspectors, and citizens with direct access to information on the origin and quality of medicines.
The Ministry also emphasized that the platform will enable authorities to monitor medicine availability across the country, helping to prevent shortages by providing real-time visibility into stock levels. Furthermore, the system will verify medicine quality through traceability based on the GS1 global standards, which the Ministry stated will be implemented for the first time in Mauritania.
Further confirmation came from the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Modernization of Administration. In an interview with Radio Mauritania, Mohamed El Mokhtar Yahya Mohamedine, Mission Officer at the Ministry, announced that the government is preparing to launch a new digital platform for tracking medicines and other health products across the country.
He explained that the platform is designed to monitor every medicine from manufacturing to the final consumer through a unique serial number and secure packaging, helping to combat pharmaceutical counterfeiting while ensuring product quality. The system will also support the identification of unauthorized and expired medicines and will enable consumers to verify medicine authenticity and validity through a dedicated mobile application.
He further confirmed that the procurement process has already been completed, the submitted proposals are currently under evaluation by the procurement committee, and a final decision on the platform is expected soon.
While Mauritania has not yet published detailed technical serialization guidelines or implementation specifications, these developments clearly indicate a strong regulatory commitment toward establishing a national pharmaceutical Track & Trace ecosystem aligned with international traceability practices.
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