Barth Ndubuwah, Port Harcourt
As Nigeria continues to grapple with the scourge of substandard and fake medical products,the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has vowed to curb the menace and bring perpetrators to book.
In line with that vision, the Agency has adopted strategies to tackle the challenge, resulting into establishment of the Greenbook, Traceability and Paediatric Regulation APPs.
It is in this light that NAFDAC organised a 2-day workshop in Port Harcourt,the Rivers State capital to sensitive stakeholders on the operations of the Greenbook, Traceability and Paediatric regulations innovative APPs.
Addressing the gathering Thursday,the Director General(DG) of NAFDAC,Prof Mojisola Adeyeye said since the perpetrators of fake and substandard products have become sophisticated, NAFDAC has equally gone nuclear to checkmate them, hence the introduction of the Greenbook, Traceability and Paediatric regulation APPs.
Represented by the Director Post Market Surveillance,Pharm Fraden Bitrus, the DG said NAFDAC will not rest until the drug distribution chain in Nigeria is sanitized.
“Now, the counterfeiters have assumed more sophisticated dimensions to advance their trade. Therefore, the Agency is poised to use technologies and modern means to mitigate the activities of counterfeiters and therefore the need for sensitization of stakeholders is apt.
“This workshop aims to provide information, sensitize stakeholders, and provide hands-on training on 3 things, namely;
The NAFDAC Greenbook,
The Traceability Regulation 2024 and
The Pediatric Regulation 2024.
“This ensures that the regulator and the regulated are on the same page in combating Substandard and Falsified (SF) medical products,” the DG said.
She said the paediatric Regulation is mainly to cater for the needs of children between the ages of zero to eighteen years.
The DG called on all stakeholders in the healthcare subsector to support NAFDAC in this regard to achieve results.
In her goodwill message,the Commissioner for Health in Rivers State, Dr Adaeze Oreh lauded NAFDAC for its bold initiative in combating importation or manufacturing of unwholesome medical products, assuring that her Ministry will continue to partner with the Agency to succeed in that direction.
The Commissioner who was represented by the Focal Person, Pharmacovigilance at the Health Ministry, Pharm Quanta Dappa told the gathering that the Health Ministry has set up a taskforce on counterfeit pharmaceutical products.
Also speaking,the Director of Pharmaceutical Service, Ministry of Health,Pharm LP Halliday Charles who spoke through Pharm Nneka Okpara said by introducing the Greenbook, Traceability and Paediatric regulation APPs,NAFDAC has once again proved its mettle in combating substandard and fake medical products in the country.
She assured that her Ministry will implement every resolution reached at the workshop.
Dr Regina Garba of Post Market Surveillance,NAFDAC had earlier taken the participants through the objectives of the workshop,which she said include sensitisation of stakeholders,with a view to tackling the menace of substandard and counterfeit drugs in the country.
