Speaker Profile

BIOGRAPHY

Dr Kwasi A. Nyarko is the Coordinator of the African Vaccine Regulatory Forum (AVAREF) Secretariat, a regulatory and ethics capacity-building platform hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa (AFRO). He has more than 23 years of experience in the regulation of health products—including vaccines and chemicals—gained through his service with the Government of Canada. Dr Nyarko possesses extensive expertise across the entire product innovation life cycle, from preclinical and clinical research to premarket and postmarket evaluation of safety, quality, and efficacy. His work has also involved developing and implementing regulatory policies and best practices that support product authorization and oversight. Within WHO-AFRO’s Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPD) Programme, he serves as the focal point for vaccine research, development, regulation, and safety. As Coordinator of the AVAREF Secretariat, he leads efforts to strengthen the capacities of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and National Ethics Committees (NECs) across Africa through training, guidance, and technical support. Earlier in his career, Dr Nyarko led several multidisciplinary teams responsible for assessing risks posed by chemical substances to human health and the environment, designing regulatory science policy frameworks, and fostering innovation through the development of regulatory systems for vaccines, biosimilars, and biotherapeutics. Between 2008 and 2017, he represented Health Canada at WHO-AVAREF. Today, Dr Nyarko and his team continue to advance the operationalization of regulatory oversight for clinical trials within the framework of the African Medicines Agency (AMA).