Dignitaries At High Table At The One Day Sensitization Workshop
Conference hall, federal secretariat Port Harcourt was the venue of the
one day sensitisation workshop on fake drugs and unwholesome NAFDAC regulated products, organized by the National Agency for Drugs and Administration Control (NAFDAC) South South zone.
The theme of the workshop was sensitization campaign for healthcare providers on the role of effective risk communication on consumer exposure to the substandard and falsified medicines in Nigeria.
In his introductory speech, the NAFDAC director, South-South zone, Pharmacist Chukwuma Oligbu harped on the dangers inherent in unwholesome and fake drugs and the necessity the agency attached to the provision of free fake drugs society in Nigeria.
“Medical products we all know is an integral and pivotal part of healthcare delivery and the need to be available, affordable and quality assured. But in this side of the divide, affordablity, availability and quality has become a great challenge, particularly now when there is an economic downturn in Nigeria. The global economic crisis had had a great impact on the availabilities of quality drugs, because when they are available prices are hitting the celling”
He highlighted substandard and falsified medical products as garmene concepts of the workshop.
“There are two concepts the we are going to be relating to about our discuss in this event; they are substandard and falsified medical products.
Substandard medical products are those products that failed to meet up quality standards or their specifications, while falsified medicinal products are medical products that are deliberately or fraudulent misrepresented by their identity and composition”.
He posited further “the global economic crisis has had a negative impact on the availability of quality drugs, and where they are available, prices are not either affordable or the quality are accessible. The presence of substandard and falsified product is a growing problem and decline against humanity. United Nations sustainable development goals for 2030 emphasizes save effective quality and affordable essential medicines, acknowledging a serious impact on fake medicines on global health.
The substandard and falsified product are mostly found in country where assess to good medicine is limited or implementation of good food pharmacy practice, or manufacturing practice is poor or absence. The classes of medicines that are targeted include anti Malaria, Anti Bacteria, Anti Hypertensive, Anti Diabetic.
The public health implications SF are numerous these includes the following; increase in hospital admissions, prolonged stay in the hospital, development of resistance, treatment of failure and eventual death”.
While soliciting for the public to support NAFDAC in their bid to create an unwholesome drugs free society Pharmacist Chukwuma Oligbu enumerated his agency’s efforts in maintaining fake drugs environments in Nigeria
“NAFDAC has been doing so much to curb its challenge and it’s maliaze that has hate our society. This time we are soliciting for support to fight this maliaze cladding our society.
Over the years in our continuous efforts against the distribution and use of fake drugs, we have to enhance our inspection process. To do that there something you have put in place, at the point of entry and locally. These includes the demand for pre-shipment information by all important before the drugs arrived at the pot of entry.
Secondly, there has been a collaboration with all Nigerian Banks to ensure that drugs importers get the agency’s clearance before financial documents are processed for them.
We issue guidelines to airlines might lift drugs for importer without proper authorization from the agency.
We carry out post marketing surveillance in accordance World Health Organization specification to enable set procedure for mopping up fake drugs already in circulation.
We are here today because we are out to get you as part of this fight, because we know that we can not do it all alone, we need your support. We join hands to identify the persons who are perpetrator and for the seek of fear you don’t want to expose them. Some of are abetting this perpetrator. Standards falsified product has become a public maliaze that has impacted negatively on our economy as a nation, and has had adverse effects on our wellbeing as a nation.
As an agency we maintain zero tolerance position to this evil tie. To this end we are soliciting the support of every wellbeing Nigeria to help in fighting this evil tie that has eaten up in the fabrics of our society.
The NAFDAC South South zone director was optimistic that the sensitization exercise will help in concretize the formidable arrangement to fight the menace of fake drugs in Nigeria.
“I hope at the end of this fruitful deliberation we shall take a decision that will be a life time decision because the fight must be continuous and perseverance. It not going to be a one-off fight.”
Dr. Mrs. Regina Garba Officer in-charge of marketing surveillance South South zone in her contribution dowelt on sustainability of the agency’s drive for unwholesome drugs free society.
There were good will messages from Pharmacist Society of Nigeria, Nigeria Medical Association, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Custom Service and Association of Public Health Physicians.
