President Akufo-Addo has appointed Mr. Kwame Dei Asamoah-Okyere as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Biosafety Authority (NBA), based on the recommendations of the NBA’s Governing Board and in consultation with the Public Services Commission.
Mr. Asamoah-Okyere takes over from Mr. Eric Amaning Okoree, the NBA’s first CEO, whose eight-year tenure concluded in March 2024.
Mr. Okoree is praised for laying the groundwork for the NBA’s regulatory framework and advancing biosafety standards in Ghana.
Prior to this appointment, Mr. Asamoah-Okyere served for over two decades as the Director of Business Development and International Partnerships at the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
His expertise includes good regulatory practices related to food and medical products, strategy development, planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, as well as quality management systems.
At the FDA, he significantly contributed to enhancing operational efficiency and revenue growth, focusing on digital transformation and cultivating key local and international partnerships to strengthen regulatory capacities.
Mr. Asamoah-Okyere has a longstanding affiliation with the NBA, dating back to 2012, when he participated on the Technical Advisory Committee of the National Biosafety Committee, playing a key role in assessing the first five confined field trial applications.
He also served on the inaugural Governing Board of the NBA from 2015 to 2017, helping to define its organizational structure and strategic vision.
In 2015, he led a national consultation with Civil Society Groups and Anti-GMO activists to establish a consensus on the labeling of Genetically Modified Organisms for Food, Feed, and Processing (GMO-FFP), preparing for Ghana’s first GMO event approval. The medical subsequently published guidelines on GMO labeling.
His academic credentials include a Master of Arts in Monitoring and Evaluation from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (2021), a Master’s in Biosafety in Plant Biotechnology from Marche Polytechnic University (2011), a Master of Science in Food Biotechnology (Merit) from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow (2008), and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry (1st Class) from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (2001).
He is also an alumnus of Presbyterian Boys Secondary School (PRESEC), Legon.
As the new CEO, Mr. Asamoah-Okyere is committed to advancing Ghana’s biosafety regulations through a results-oriented strategy, ensuring that the research, development, and application of genetically modified organisms are conducted safely, with robust measures in place to prevent any unintended harm or contamination.