The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC has again called on members of the public to report any bad medicine to the agency for immediate action.
The Director - General, NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye made the call while raiding the Idumota Drug market of fake, unregistered and counterfeit drugs.
She said, the essence is to control the selling of medicines that are injurious to health especially the unapproved ones.
According to her, " we have over 5000 open market shops in the country, adding that they not supposed to be open, they are supposed to be in what is called, " Coordinated WholeSale Center " we are going to get there in Onisha, Aba and Lagos " she promised
The DG emphasized that, there must be control because the health of the people matter, hence the need for the 7 days lock up exercise.
" You and I matter, we are not individual that could be killed immediately because of bad medicine and we have to be very very sensitive about this. " The medicine you are taking must make you well, not kill you". If you get a medicine and it's not making you well, call NAFDAC, " we would trace it, we would track it". Adeyeye
"If it is bad medicine, it will kill you, it will kill a child, many people have died in this country because of bad medicine, but enough is enough ". she warned.
The Director, Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, NAFDAC, Mr Shaba Mohammed, said the operations which started some days ago, were being carried out in three major open drug markets in the country.
Mohammed said, "Today's operation is about substandard medical products in Nigerian market, On Sunday night, " we sealed the three major open drug markets in the country, Idumota drug market, Bridget drug market in Onitsha and Ariaria drug markets in Aba ", noting that, " we have all the securities, military police, SS and pharmacy Council of Nigeria, along with NAFDAC staff working in those markets ".
" No time is too late for any action taken against counterfeit, before now, we were involved in so many investigations, and we come to all these markets and seize products, but we are doing this now so that we'll be able to remove virtually all counterfeit products in the store in those markets, because they are the hub of distribution of over 80% of drug needs in the country ". he explained
In the same vain, the Deputy Director Investigation and Enforcement in Charge of team two and three, Mrs Florence Ubah, said, "So we are screening this shop, and the owner of the shop is the head of the tax force, as he claimed".
" Although confirmed by other tax force members, yesterday, some people were trying to run out of the market with these cartons, here, they are about 14 in number. So when the tax force came along, they ran away, and they couldn't apprehend them, but they were able to pick the products, and because they didn't have anywhere to put them, because it was already late, he had to put them in his shops, he explained before I opened the shop " Ubah stated.
She explained further, " So I said, Okay, since they are products abandoned by whosoever they are, we have to pick them to NAFDAC office for more verification. So that's exactly what we have done. " We have picked the products that they recovered, and we are now screening his shop as part of the exercise ". she said
Chairman, Lagos State Medicine Association, Island Zone, Mr Innocent Ezennaya, who expressed concerns over the ongoing inspection exercise said although he is in support of the exercise, the one week lock up would have economic consequences both on the owners, the hospital and the patients who rely on drugs to survive.
Ezennaya who expressed dismay that despite regular checks on members to ensure no person is caught wanting, some were still in the habit of cutting conners, stressing that, " this particular operation which is more intense, with inspectors checking shops one after the other will add value to their business".
He called on the law enforcement agencies who are stationed at the borders to intensity checks as those fake and adulterated medicines pass through the borders.
" All those drugs pass through the borders, the water, air and by road, what are they doing ? It is their duty to to ensure those medicines don't come in ". Ezennaya stressed
" He assured members of the public that business will resume in earnest as not all sealed off shops that are found wanting., staying that, it was just a modernity to differentiate between shops that had been checked and those that had not been investigated ".
Julie Ekong
No comments:
Post a Comment