Health

NAFDAC Decries Prevalence Of Fake, Substandard Drugs In Nigeria

ABUJA – The National Agency for Food Drugs Administration and Control, (NAFDAC) has frowned at high level of fake, substandard and falsified drugs across the nation.

The agency said survey has shown that the level of prevalence of substandard and falsified products is high across the nation, saying their concern is how to bring prevalence of substandard and falsified products to the bearest minimum.

Speaking in Ibadan on behalf of the Director General of the Agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, NAFDAC Zonal Director, Mrs Roselyn Ajayi while sensitising healthcare providers and stakeholders warned that users of fake and substandard products particularly drugs can die due to effect of the drugs on their body.

According to her, one of the strategies the agency intend to use to curb the menance was to embark on agressive sensitisation and engagement of different stakeholders particularly those in the distribution of healthcare products like medicine.

She said: “We have showed them what we have discovered on the field, we want them to know the concern of NAFDAC, we want to also know their concern, so as to know the way forward.

“This sensitisation is not ending here, we are still going to pay advocacy visit to churches, mosque, traditional rulers, opinion leaders on how to avoid patronising people selling substandard, unwholesome and fake products.

“This is just the first phase and we have brought in pharmacists that are involved in distribution of medicine to enlighten then on what to look out for, concern of NAFDAC and what is their own concern also and how we can put these incidence to the bearest minimum.”

She however said that the core mandate of the agency is to regulate and control activities surrounding regulated products, which include, importation, exportation, manufacture, distribution, storage and advertisement of regulated products.

In his remark, the chairman, Association of Community Pharmacist of Nigeria, Oyo State branch, Pharmacist Adebayo Gbadamosi urged Nigerians to always patronise registered pharmacist, not quacks to buy original drugs.

He said aside buying drugs from registered pharmacists, people should also check the manufacturing date, expiring date, batch number and proper address of a manufacturer of such drugs.

He said: “Some of these drugs also has scratch, you can scratch to know the authenticity of the drugs, if our people are informed and they stop buying fake drugs, it will discouraged the quacks.”

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