Victoria Mbangwa
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced a new approach to tackling the widespread issue of fake and substandard drugs in Nigeria.
During a one-day sensitization campaign in Ibadan, Oyo State, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, underscored the agency’s growing concern over the prevalence of falsified drugs and the urgent need to protect public health.
Represented by Zonal Director Roselyn Ajayi, Adeyeye emphasized that the agency’s strategy now includes community-based advocacy.
She said, “Our survey has shown that the level of prevalence of substandard and falsified products is high across the nation.
“The outcome of such a survey necessitated the need for sensitisation and engagement of the healthcare providers to interact on how the prevalence of substandard and falsified medicine can be reduced.
“From the experiences and survey report, it was observed that fakers and counterfeiters are getting smarter and faster taking advantage of the possibilities and opportunities of advancement in technology, hence the sensitisation and campaign programme.”
In support of NAFDAC’s efforts, the Chairman of the Oyo State Association of Community Pharmacists, Adebayo Gbadamosi, urged citizens to buy medicines only from registered pharmacists. He highlighted the importance of using verification methods such as scratching drug labels to check authenticity.
“Some of these drugs also have scratches. You can scratch to know the authenticity of the drugs. If our people are informed and they stop buying fake drugs, it will discourage the quacks,” he said.
