The Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) has said advertisement of beauty and personal care products doesn’t require additional approval from National Drug Authority, saying the certification by Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) regulations are enough.Genevieve Akello Atiang, Senior Investment Executive Legal at Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) said this while appearing before Parliament’s Health Committee on 15th October 2025 during the consideration of The National Drug and Health Products Authority Bill, 2025.“UIA recommends that the clause is repealed or deleted in respect of beauty and personal care products. Advertising of such products should not require additional NDA approval once the product itself has been certified by the Ugandan National Bureau of Standards and meets all other applicable regulatory requirements. This is mainly for ease of doing business by removing redundant approvals and reducing compliance costs, simplifying the process and aligning government efforts to improve Uganda’s investment climate,” Atiang said.In clause 96 of The National Drug and Health Products Authority Bill, 2025, the Ministry of Health is proposing to give additional powers to National Drug Authority to regulate advertisement of regulated products stipulating that for a regulated product to be advertised, that should be done in such a manner that represents the regulated product as being usable for a purpose other than the purpose for which it has been registered, notified or listed.Atiang defended UIA’s proposal arguing, “It will also promote local manufacturing by avoiding over-regulation that discourages local production, limits brand visibility, favours imported products contrary to the import substitution strategy. It will also bring about regulatory efficiency because oversight by UNBS and UCC already ensures safety, quality, and responsible advertising of beauty and personal products.”Although Uganda Investment Authority acknowledged that The National Drug and Health Products Authority Bill, 2025, is a landmark reform that will shape Uganda’s pharmaceutical and health product sector for decades, there is need to ensure that its core intent, safeguarding quality and safety, is firmly in the national interest and importantly aligned with the investor preferences for stable, well-regulated markets.“A strong regulator protects the public while also reassuring serious investors that Uganda is not a haven for substandard competition. For this strength to translate into investment growth, however, the regulator must combine firmness with strategic openness and efficiency. The bill’s expanded scope alignment with international norms and clear rules are positive, but implementation will be decisive. If licensing and approval processes are slow or unpredictable, they risk deterring the very investments Uganda seeks to attract from vaccine plants to device assembly and cosmetic startup,” Akello argued.The Authority outlined several recommendations that can be taken up to fine-tune the bill and ensure that NDAUNDHPA delivers both quality control and investor facilitation, citing the sensitive period Uganda is entering of major opportunities with regional integration combined with global initiatives to scale vaccine and pharmaceutical production in Africa, saying proposals from investments exports would help position Uganda to attract significant investment as a supportive and predictable regulatory environment is essential to seize this moment.Uganda Investment Authority expressed concerns about possibility of slow and unpredictable approvals given the failure by the Ministry of Health to propose timelines in which licenses can be issued in order to speed up investors’ entry into the market.“We recommend that statutory administrative timelines are introduced and 14 to 30 days at that for secondary permits, publish annual performance reports within the same time. This should apply for each part, certificates, registration, notification, or listing, depending on the requirements for each process. The impact anticipated here and the reasons for this recommendation is that it will be, it will foster faster predictable approvals, reduce uncertainty, and speed up market entry,” Atiang said.UIA also raised concerns about the compliance burden that would be imposed on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) if the Bill comes into effect, and thus called for the provision of grace periods under the bill, for example 12 months for existing products to encourage phase enforcement by risk level arguing that prevents market disruption and allows gradual compliance supporting local industry.In clause 116 the Ministry of Health had indicated that Government shall encourage research by persons carrying on research and development in herbal and other medical products.However, UIA argued that the support of local research and production under clause 116 of the bill does not specify intentional steps to be taken by government to encourage local research and production.“It should be modified to provide incentives, reduce costs, reduce penalties, and waive certain requirements where appropriate. This provides clarity on treatment of local producers and how the government will indeed support them. The bill should clearly provide for and define the various scales of production and distribution along with their associated costs,” hThe post Advertising Of Skincare Products Shouldn’t Require Additional NDA Approval, UNBS Is Enough- UIA appeared first on Business Focus.