By Precious Mark
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC ) has entered a £3.7 million global partnership aimed at keeping fake and damaged vaccines out of supply chain and the Nigerian healthcare system.
The grant was awarded by the United Kingdom Medical Research Council under its Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme, according to a statement released by the agency on Monday.
Led by the Medicine Quality Research Group at the University of Oxford, the project brings together key global health bodies and local institutions, including Obafemi Awolowo University and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
The three-year initiative will focus on testing innovative screening devices directly in Nigerian communities and improving routine laboratory checks to confirm vaccine safety.
It builds on earlier work started during the COVID-19 pandemic by the Vaccine Identity Evaluation Consortium, which targeted the growing international trade in substandard medical supplies.
Scientific tools previously designed in top UK laboratories to spot altered or degraded drugs will now undergo performance trials under local conditions.
The agency noted that participating in the research will help improve post-marketing checks and give regulators stronger evidence to protect citizens, according to NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye.