In a bid to fight against substandard medicines in Nigeria, the
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control NAFDAC, has vowed to confront the menace of substandard and falsified medicines in the country with the implementation of a pharmaceutical traceability strategy.
The Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this at the Traceability Workshop in Abuja.
The event, organised by NAFDAC, was aimed at finalising the draft Traceability of Pharmaceutical Products Regulations in the country.
Adeyeye, in a statement by NAFDAC’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, said the task of safeguarding the health of the nation is daunting in the face of chaotic drug distribution system currently existing in Nigeria.
She added that falsification and diversion of health commodities carry very serious health and economic consequences.
The NAFDAC boss said consideration of these consequences is the mandate of the agency to regulate and control distribution of drugs and other regulated products with sufficient motivation to implement pharmaceutical traceability.
Adeyeye explained that NAFDAC is committed to implementation of pharmaceutical traceability in the country as part of the regulatory strengthening and underscoring of its mandate.
She said NAFDAC has developed a Five-Year Traceability Implementation plan, in line with objectives of the Nigeria Pharmaceutical Traceability Strategy, to achieve supply chain visibility and strengthen interventions against the scourge of substandard and falsified medicines.
Adeyeye, however, noted that development, gazetting and dissemination of the Traceability of Pharmaceutical Products Regulations are essential for adoption and enforcement of provisions of the Nigeria Pharmaceutical Traceability Strategy.
She said the regulation, accompanied by guidelines and compliance requirements, would provide a legal framework to support advocacy for all stakeholders to implement traceability in distribution of pharmaceutical supply chain.
She noted that the participation of relevant stakeholders during drafting of the Traceability Regulations was important to ensure there is understanding of the provisions and to welcome feedback, with the goal of improving compliance.