NAFDAC, PCN Condemn Open Drug Market, Commence CWC

Ayodeji Ake

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) have spoken tough on open drug market elimination.

Addressing journalists jointly in Lagos yesterday, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, and the Registrar of the PCN, Ibrahim Babashehu-Ahmed, announced the relocation of the open drugs market in Kano to a Coordinated Wholesale Centre (CWC), and promised to replicate such standard practice across the states.

Adeyeye said: “The chaotic drug distribution system in Nigeria and open drug markets have been a sore point to drug regulatory agencies, especially to NAFDAC. The consequence of this is treatment failure or even death. Therefore, to make Nigerians healthier and reduce mortality, NAFDAC and our sister agency, PCN, must continue to fight against it.

“The PCPSR recommended the development of National Drug Distribution Guidelines (NDDG) as a key strategy to coordinate the drug distribution sub-sector and all operators in the open drug markets in Kano, Lagos, Onitsha, and Aba.”

Speaking further, the NAFDAC boss explained that the CWCs, designed as controlled environments for proper monitoring of drug distribution.

Babashehu-Ahmed, highlighted that the CWC in Kano was the first of its kind, established to enhance the regulation of drug distribution and sales in Nigeria.

He spoke on the duties of the PCN which include regulating pharmacy practice sites, the practitioners, and the patent and proprietary medicine vendors that use the open drug markets to sell medicines.