The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has expressed concern over the negative impact of the global economic crisis on the availability and affordability of quality medications.
Speaking at a sensitization workshop on counterfeit drugs and other substandard products in Port Harcourt, NAFDAC’s South-South Zonal Director, Oligbu Chukwuma, described the proliferation of fake and substandard drugs as a growing issue and a crime against humanity.
Chukwuma emphasized that substandard and counterfeit drugs are prevalent in regions where access to high-quality medicines is limited, and where the implementation of good pharmacy practices is either absent or poorly enforced.
Chukwuma said, “Medical products, we all know is an integral part and pivotal part of healthcare delivery. And they need to be available, affordable and quality assured.
“But in this side of the divide, affordability and availability, and quality has become a great challenge. Particularly now when there is an economic downtown in Nigeria.
“The global economic crisis has had a great impact on the availability of quality drugs now because, when they are available, the prices are hitting the ceiling.
He explained, “Substandard products are medical products that fail to meet either quantity standard, quality standards or their specification.
“While, falsified fake medicinal products and medical products that are deliberately or fraudulently misrepresented by their identity and composition.
“The global economic crisis now has had a negative impact on the availability of quality drugs.
“The presence of substandard and falsified products is a growing wicked problem and a crime against humanity.”
He highlighted the prevalence of counterfeit anti-malaria, antibacterial, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and lifestyle drugs, warning of the severe public health consequences, which include increased hospital admissions, prolonged hospital stays, drug resistance, treatment failures, and even death.
According to the NAFDAC Director, the public implication of this is enormous.
Chukwuma noted that NAFDAC has intensified efforts to combat the menace by enhancing its inspection processes, particularly at the nation’s ports of entry.
He said the agency now mandates pre-shipment notifications from all importers before drugs arrive in Nigeria, among other stringent measures.
Chukwuma added, “We paid advocacy to international regulatory authorities in China and India for collaboration in the fight against importation of fake drug products in Nigeria.
“We have other measures which is inexhaustible. We have this deployment of cutting edge technology, mobile authentication service that has put this fight in the hands of the consumers out there.
“These are all the things we put in place as we go along. The powers that are behind this faking and substandard products are all over our society.” He added.
Chukwuma urged Nigerians to always check for NAFDAC registration numbers when purchasing medications and called for greater public collaboration in the fight against counterfeit drugs.
The NAFDAC South-South Zonal Director, encouraged individuals with information on those involved in the production or distribution of substandard medicines to come forward, stressing that the issue has become both a public health crisis and an economic burden on the nation.
He reaffirmed NAFDAC’s commitment to a zero-tolerance policy towards counterfeit drugs.
The sensitization workshop had in attendance, representatives from the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PSN, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigerian Immigration Service, and patent medicine dealers, among others.
Economic downturn: NAFDAC expresses concern over availability, quality of medications