NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA

NAFDAC seals expired drugs warehouse in Aba

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By Ijendu Iheaka

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered and sealed a warehouse of six flats containing expired foreign drugs and supplements in the outskirts of Aba.

 

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the building is located in the Umummeje, Umuocheala in Osisioma LGA of Abia.

 

The South East Zonal Coordinator of NAFDAC, Mr Martins Iluyomade, confirmed the discovery after taking newsmen through the buildings packed full with expired products.

 

“This is a twin two story duplex with Boy’s Quarters filled with expired products to the brim and to a level I have never seen before since my days of working in NAFDAC.

 

“What we are seeing here are expired drugs that people have stocked here.

 

“I am seeing here that some of the expired products were purchased recently and in new cartons,” he said.

 

The coordinator said that some of the products have shipment markings on their packs showing that they came recently through Ikeja Airport in Lagos.

 

Iluyomade said the owners of the buildings established a system of either buying expired products or receiving expired products from importers to repackage and sell to the public.

 

“All the work we have been doing in Abia are important but this is massive.

 

“I don’t understand how somebody can be this evil against his own people.

 

“We are all Nigerians and we should not be this evil to ourselves,” Iluyomade said.

 

He said he was speechless as he was made to enter one room after the other all packed to the brim with expired products.

 

“I felt like crying seeing many anti-hypertensive medicines here because if somebody has hypertension and you went to buy foreign drugs for him and you are ‘buying death again’, a person doing that deserves a death sentence,” he said.

 

The coordinator said that the agency could not yet quantify the volume of foreign expensive expired medicines in the place because the building is filled and work is still ongoing.

 

Iluyomade said that the suspicion of revalidation of the expired products made more sense when they saw a machine used to revalidate expired products and heaps of unused labels.

 

NAN learnt from a security personnel in the team that three persons including the suspect’s wife had been arrested.

 

However, Iluyomade only confirmed the arrest of ‘few persons’ including the wife of the suspect.

 

The coordinator said that when the suspect, who he said is on the run, was told by his wife that she was in custody, the man said they should “continue to keep her”.

 

Iluyomade promised that the agency and its allies would arrest the suspect and make him face the law.

 

“Regarding the house, the law will take its course because everything here including the buildings have become a scene of crime.

 

“The buildings, the vehicles and everything we are seeing here has become part of the exhibits,” he said.

 

Iluyomade said that the NAFDAC DG was already moving for a review of its laws to make it as strong as the Chinese law on fake adulterated medicines.

 

“Our DG made that clarification some days ago that anybody caught with fake and substandard medicines should be given a death sentence,” he said.

 

The NAFDAC zonal coordinator thanked Gov. Alex Otti of Abia for supporting the mopping of unregistered and expired drugs and also appreciated the Police, the Army and DSS for their assistance in making the screening successful.

 

He said that the outing was a collaborative effort of all the agencies and expressed hope that they would continue to work in synergy for the safety of Nigerians.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Benson Iziama

NAFDAC inaugurates consumer club in Niger schools

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By Rita Iliya
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has inaugurated its Consumer Safety Club (NCSC) in secondary schools in Niger.

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of NAFDAC, said the inauguration of the club was part of the agency’s catch-them-young initiative.

Adeyeye, who inaugurated the NCSC at Maryam Babangida Girls Science College in Minna on Wednesday, said it aimed at sensitising students on the dangers of illicit drugs.

Represented by Mr James Kigbu, the Coordinator of NAFDAC in Niger, the director-general disclosed that 14.4 per cent or 14.3 million Nigerians were victims of drug abuse.

She described the situation as “alarming” and highlighted the need for collective action to address the issue.

“This epidemic of drug, including alcohol abuse was destroying families, the workforce, and destabilising our economy,” she said.

She noted that the catch-them-young initiative was designed to reduce the prevalence of drug abuse among secondary school students.

She explained that the programme would focus on educating students about the dangers of drug abuse and the importance of making informed decisions.

Adeyeye also emphasised the role of teachers in the fight against drug abuse, urging them to work with parents and guardians to identify and address behavioural problems in students.

The director-general further noted that NAFDAC’s mission was to mould a future generation empowered to be upright and to demand uprightness from others.

Adeyeye encouraged students to resist peer pressure, abstain from drug abuse, and seek professional help when needed.

She urged the students to develop hobbies, concentrate on their studies, and be content with what they have.

The director-general urged the students to leverage their membership of the NCSC to assist in information flow on NAFDAC regulatory activities and promote the fight against drug abuse.

In her remarks, Hajiya Amina Attahiru, Principal of the school, commended NAFDAC for its initiative to educate students on the dangers of illicit drugs.

Attahiru, represented by Mrs Florence Jacob, Vice Principal, urged the students to take the opportunity seriously and learn about the dangers of illicit drugs.

Maryam Masaga, Coordinator of the NCSC in Niger, thanked the school management for honouring and giving the agency the opportunity to carry out the sensitisation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event featured presentations on the role of young people in the prevention of substance/drug abuse and the role of NAFDAC NCSC in safeguarding the health of the nation. (NAN)
Edited by Fatima Sule Abdullahi/ Isaac Ukpoju

Fighting counterfeit  products: NAFDAC calls for more intelligence reports

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By Aderogba George

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has called for more intelligence reports about counterfeit products to tackle the problem.

 

 

The Director-General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, made the call when she featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.

 

 

Adeyeye, who said that the agency alone cannot fight counterfeit products, stressed the need for support from Nigerians, saying “we cannot be everywhere,  we need information about such products’ availability in communities.

 

 

“If you inform us about such products, we will be there within an hour or maximum two hours, we have done that several times, where we get intelligence.

 

 

“If found to have truly violated the law, we will shut the company immediately. We, therefore, call on the public to call our helpline on 080-162-3322 for any information.

 

 

“People can also get to us via Email:sf.alert@nafdac.gov.ng or report to the nearest NAFDAC office or through E-reporting platforms available on NAFDAC website -www.nafdac.gov.ng.

 

 

“Nigerians can also report via the Med-safety application available for download on Android and IOS stores or via Email on: pharmacovigilance@nafdac.gov.ng.”

 

 

The NAFDAC boss said that through intelligence report, a lot had been done locally, adding that any company found short of the agency’s rules and regulations on standard would be shut.

 

 

She said that such company would remain shut until it finds corrective measures.

 

 

“We have shut many companies, and from the higher up, they call me but I say no, we cannot open them, but let them quickly do what we asked them to do, we are for business. We have, however, shut a few companies permanently.

 

 

“We are now higher up in terms of the use of technology to confirm substandard products, especially drugs, called GS 1 track and trace mechanism.”

 

 

She further explained that consumers could scan the barcode on drug packets to know where they are from, when it was manufactured, when it will expire.

 

 

“We have also digitised package leaflets, usually inside some products; with a scanner, you can download electronic information which patients or consumers can also read to know more about a product.”

 

 

She said that Nigerians could use their phones to get information about a product by scanning the barcode and that could also be done through the use of an App.

 

 

The NAFDAC boss added that a lot of awareness had been done in the media like the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and TVC about substandard goods.

 

 

“If a product is too cheap, it is very likely that it is not good,” she said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

NAN MD lauds NAFDAC for reducing counterfeit goods

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By Aderogba George

The Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Malam Ali M. Ali, has lauded National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), for efforts toward reducing counterfeit goods in Nigeria.

 

He gave the commendation when Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General of the food and drug regulating agency, paid him a visit in Abuja on Tuesday.

 

Ali also commended Adeyeye’s giant strides toward tackling substandard products in the country, saying that the impact is being felt all over the country.

 

“We know what you are doing, especially in trying to rid our warehouses, stores and others of substandard goods.

 

“We know there are millions of dollars involved in this kind of business; that you are making efforts to fight counterfeit goods is good.

 

“This is more similar to the same thing we are fighting at the agency — fake news, when you are dealing with fake drugs and you see how it is being manufactured in the length and breadth of this country, it is mind-boggling.

 

“This is why you deserve all the support the media can give you, as well as the general support Nigerians can give you, what you are doing in NAFDAC is selfless service, it is a selfless task.

 

“You have to do it for the country, as an academician, you have set the bar, I think other regulators should emulate what you are doing.”

 

The managing director said that if NAFDAC staff risk their lives in safeguarding public health, it is a duty on other regulatory agencies to also rise up to their task.

 

He said NAN as a major content provider in terms of news would continue to project the image of NAFDAC provided it is still carrying out its responsibilities as enshrined in the law.

 

He said that NAN as a news agency could not afford to mislead the public with information, adding that the agency has zero tolerance for fake news and misinformation.

 

Earlier, the NAFDAC boss told NAN MD that sharp practices are widespread and majority of people would always want to beat the system.

 

She said that the country witnessed six decades of decadence up until in 2019 when NAFDAC realised that and decided to change the narrative to promote local manufacturing of goods.

 

She added that people would always want to beat the system to their own favour and to the detriment of others’ health.

 

“We deal with goods, drugs, chemicals, vaccines and others and almost everything that make life better on a daily basis and this is why we have to be on alert, it is a tough business, but we have to do the job.

 

“Just two or three months ago, our staff went on a routine patrol in Onisha and they were attacked, this is the type of hazards we face everyday as an agency.

 

“Our work is for the benefit of all Nigerians in terms of what we eat and drink, because you may never know when you need medicine, you must be sure that the water doesn’t put your stomach in trouble,” she stressed.

 

She said that NAFDAC would not keep mute to this system but will keep on working a step ahead of counterfeiters who are determined to promote illegalities to the detriment of the health of many Nigerians.(NAN) (www.nannew.ng)

Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

NAFDAC alerts Nigerians on fake anti-malaria drug

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By Aderogba George

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has notified the public of the sale of counterfeit combiart (Artemether Lumefantrine 20/120mg) Dispersible Tablet in Nigeria.

 

The notification is in a public alert marked: No. 043/2024, issued on NAFDAC website, disclosing the date of manufacturing of the drug to be Feb. 2023 and June 2023.

 

It equally gave the expiring date of the drug as May 2026 and June 2026, as well as a Batch No: 7225119 with NAFDAC Reg No: A11-0299.

 

The agency equally gave the manufacturer name and address as Strides Arcolab Limited, 36/7, Suragajakkanahalli, Indlavadi Cross, Anekal Taluk, Bangalore- 562 106, India.

 

NAFDAC, in the alert, said that all its zonal directors and state coordinators had been directed to carry out surveillance and mop up the counterfeit products within the zones and states.

 

It advised importers, distributors, retailers, healthcare professionals, and caregivers to exercise caution and vigilance within the supply chain and avoid importation, distribution, sale, and usage of the counterfeit product.

 

It said that all medical products must be obtained from authorised/licenced suppliers and that products’ authenticity and physical condition must be carefully checked.

 

The alert also advised healthcare professionals and consumers to report any suspicion of the sale of substandard and falsified medicines or medical devices to the nearest NAFDAC office.

 

It urged Nigerians to call NAFDAC on 0800-162-3322 or report any suspicion event via email: sf.alert@nafdac.gov.ng.

 

“Healthcare professionals and patients are similarly encouraged to report adverse or side effects related to the use of medicinal products or devices to the nearest NAFDAC office, or through E-reporting platforms available on the NAFDAC website www.nafdac.gov.ng.,” it said

 

It advised Nigerians to reports any adverse effects via the Med-safety application available for download on android and IOS stores or via e-mail on pharmacovigilance@nafdac.gov.n.

 

NAFDAC promised that the notice would be uploaded to the WHO Global Surveillance and Monitoring System (GSMS). (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Yinusa Ishola/Joe Idika

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