NAFDAC, NHIA Sign Agreement on Use of Branded Medicine  

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The National Agency for Food and  Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) have reached an agreement on the use of NHIA branded medicines by hospitals in the country.

The Director General of the NHIA, Prof. Nasir Sambo, said apart from ensuring that the branded medicines were of the required quality, NAFDAC would help monitor the distribution of the medicine so that they would not be faked.
Sambo who revealed this at a joint press conference with the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, at NAFDAC:s Headquarters in Abuja, yesterday, said NHIA was able to secure the agreement with the locsl manufacturers of the medicines to drastically reduce the cost of the drugs so that they can be affordable to Nigerians.

NHIA had earlier signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pharmaceutical Companies and Drugs Management Organisations (DMOs) for production of 33 different drugs to address the perennial problem of out-of-stock syndrome in the nations health facilities.

Under the initiative, 12 pharmaceutical companies would be branding 33 products for the health insurance ecosystem in the first phase.
Speaking at the event, Adeyeye  said the NHIA chose seven states (Delta, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Niger, Osun and Sokoto states) and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for the pilot phase of the initiative.

She said the initiative was also geared towards strengthening local pharmaceutical manufacturers, which would ultimately guarantee medicines security.  
“This drive to guarantee medicines security has been a deliberate and intentional effort by NAFDAC in the past five years and continues to be on the front burner to ensure that pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities are fit for purpose.

“This will help to reduce the proliferation of substandard and falsified medical products”
 According to the NAFDAC DG,  categories of drugs involved will start from simple to complex, which would be used to address prevailing health conditions in Nigeria, such as malaria, upper respiratory tract infections, childhood illnesses and drugs being used by pregnant women.  

 “As mentioned earlier, every drug to be manufactured will be certified and approved by the NAFDAC in terms of quality, safety and efficacy.

“The medicines will be tested in the WHO-prequalified NAFDAC laboratory. Also, as part of its post-marketing surveillance activities, NAFDAC will continue monitoring to ensure that these branded medicines are used exclusively in the nations health care facilities. They are not to be found on the shelves for sale.

“The branding of NHIA medicines and other health products was introduced as a way to help eradicate out-of-stock syndrome, as well as ensure quality of its medicines.

“Under the  initiative, 33 drugs would be branded with NHIA inscription under the National Health Insurance Authority. NAFDAC, through the Directorate of Registration and Regulatory Affairs will also ensure that appropriate and adequate labelling of the medicines are met in line with the agencys labelling requirements and in accordance with NHIA guidelines.