NAFDAC DG restates commitments to combating substandard drugs

The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has disclosed that the agency has acquired new mechanical devices to further control substandard drugs.

Adeyeye had this to say in Abuja on Thursday while answering questions from journalists at the unveiling of 73 new vehicles purchased to help run the agency.

He said NAFDAC staff members were already working to upload tools to laptops that would be used as devices to check for harmful and substandard drugs.

“These devices cost $57,000 each and we have 40 of them; it will be used to check the standard, even if it is a tablet or capsule, it will show whether it is fake or not.

“It will go further to show the quantity of the drug, as we plan to reach maturity level four; this is part of what the World Health Organization (WHO) wants to see us implement.

“We will also do wear tracking, another device to track harmful drugs and other products, this is very technical,” he explained.

The NAFDAC chief added that the agency was doing everything in its power to search for harmful drugs.

On fake drugs, Adeyeye debunked the rumor that 70 percent of drugs found in Nigeria were fake, saying “this is a complete lie from the bottomless pit.”

She said that if there were fake drugs in circulation, it should be no more than 13 to 15 percent.

She said it would take more than a year to get the Certification of Maturity at grade four, as it required the agency to put a lot of other things in place as well.

According to her, the agency has put a lot of things in shape before the agency was recently granted the Maturity Certification grade three.

She said the agency was working to complete its new vaccine building as part of the criteria for achieving maturity grade level four certification.

“Now that Nigeria is a potential country for vaccine manufacturing, WHO expects a lot in terms of regulations to allow the country to reach maturity grade four certification,” he said.

Regarding the equipment, Adeyeye said that since she took over as CEO, she had purchased 143 vehicles to help the agency operate and more would be purchased.

He expressed the hope that all agency staff would work in a conducive environment with the right equipment to ensure productivity.

Mr. Yusuf Suleiman, Chairman of the NAFDAC Board of Trustees, said more offices are being built to enable the agency to go from analog to digital.

Board member Bolaji’s representative Suleiman said the board would ensure the welfare of the staff.