National Biosafety Authority appoints Kwame Dei Asamoah-Okyere as new CEO

The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has appointed Kwame Dei Asamoah-Okyere, as its Chief Executive Officer. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo approved his appointment, in accordance with the advice of the NBA’s Governing Board in consultation with the Public Services Commission.

Mr. Asamoah-Okyere succeeds Eric Amaning Okoree, the NBA’s inaugural Chief Executive Officer, whose distinguished eight-year tenure ended in March 2024. Mr. Okoree is credited with laying the foundation for the NBA’s regulatory oversight and advancing biosafety in Ghana.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Asamoah-Okyere was the Director of Business Development and International Partnerships at the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) where he served for over two decades. He brings with him a wealth of experience in good regulatory practices in the regulation of food and medical products, strategy development, business development, international partnerships, planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation and quality management systems.

During the past six years, Mr. Asamoah-Okyere has played a crucial role in improving the FDA’s operations and revenue performance, by spearheading digital transformation efforts and building important local and international partnerships to strengthen institutional and technical capabilities in regulating food and medical products.

Mr. Asamoah-Okyere’s affiliation with the NBA dates to 2012, when he served on the first Technical Advisory Committee of the National Biosafety Committee, contributing to the review of the first five confined field trial applications. He was later appointed to the inaugural Governing Board, of the NBA where he played a pivotal role in shaping the Authority’s organizational framework, strategic direction, and scheme of service from 2015 to 2017.

In 2015, he led a national multi-stakeholder consultation that included Civil Society Groups and Anti-GMO activists to build consensus on a national position on the labelling of Genetically Modified Organisms for Food, Feed and Processing (GMO-FFP) in preparation for the first GMO event approval in Ghana. Guidelines on the labelling of same has since been published by the FDA.

His academic background includes a Master of Arts Degree in Monitoring and Evaluation from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (2021); Masters in Biosafety in Plant Biotechnology from Marche Polytechnic University (2011); Master of Science in Food Biotechnology (Merit) from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland (2008); and Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (2001). He is an alumnus of the Presbyterian Boys Secondary School (PRESEC), Legon.

As the new Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Asamoah-Okyere is committed to strengthening Ghana’s biosafety regulation through a result-oriented approach. His focus will be on ensuring that research, development, and the application of genetically modified organisms are conducted safely, with robust measures in place to prevent any unintended harm or contamination.

The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) is a government agency established by the Biosafety Act, 2011 (Act 831) to promote sustainable socio-economic development through the efficient and transparent regulation of modern biotechnology particularly Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).

The Authority has the mandate to ensure the provision of adequate level of protection in the field of safe development, transfer, handling and use of genetically modified organism resulting from biotechnology that may have an adverse effect on health and environment.

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