NAFDAC: We’ll Intensify War against Substandard, Falsified Medicines

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC has vowed to confront the menace of substandard and falsified medicines in the country with the implementation of pharmaceutical traceability strategy to safeguard the health of the Nigerian populace.
The Director General, Mojisola Adeyeye, stated this at the Traceability workshop in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The workshop organised by NAFDAC was aimed at finalising the draft Traceability of pharmaceutical products regulations in the country.
According to Adeyeye, in a statement by NAFDAC Resident Media Consultant in Lagos on Sunday, Sanyo Akintola, the onerous task of safeguarding the health of the nation was daunting in the face of the chaotic drug distribution system currently existing in Nigeria.  

She emphasised that the falsification and diversion of health commodities carry very serious health and economic consequences.
The NAFDAC boss opined that the consideration of these consequences vis-à-vis the mandate of the Agency to regulate and control among other things, the distribution of drugs and other regulated products are sufficient motivation to implement pharmaceutical traceability to complement the fight against the menace of substandard and falsified medicines and improve the regulatory control of the medicines supply chain in Nigeria.

She further explained that NAFDAC was committed to the implementation of pharmaceutical traceability in Nigeria as part of the regulatory strengthening and underscoring its mandate.

She reiterated that NAFDAC had developed a 5-Year Traceability Implementation plan in line with the objectives of the Nigeria Pharmaceutical Traceability Strategy to achieve supply chain visibility and strengthen interventions against the scourge of substandard and Falsified Medicines by the end of her second term.

Adeyeye, however, stated that the development, gazetting and dissemination of the traceability of pharmaceutical products regulations was essential for the adoption and enforcement of the provisions of the Nigeria Pharmaceutical Traceability Strategy.
She said the regulation, accompanied by guidelines and compliance requirements would provide a legal framework to support advocacy for all stakeholders to implement traceability in distribution of pharmaceuticals or supply chain.