NAFDAC boss decries prevalence of substandard drugs

With the dangers posed by the consumption of fake and substandard drugs, the Director-General of the National Agency for Food Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof Mojisola Adeyeye has said moves are underway to fix the problem in the country.
Expressing her concerns during a one-day sensitization campaign programme, held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Thursday, the NAFDAC boss, who was represented by the Zonal Director of the agency, Roselyn Ajayi, said the agency will pay advocacy visits to churches, mosques, traditional rulers and opinion leaders on how to avoid patronizing people who sell unwholesome and fake products.
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 sensitization 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 sensitization and campaign programme.”
Responding, Adebayo Gbadamosi, the Chairman of the Oyo State Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, appealed to citizens to always patronize registered pharmacists and avoid quacks.
He said, “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.”