NAFDAC raises alarm over surge in substandard drugs in face of harsh economy

…414,000 Nigerians die yearly from substandard drugs – NMA official

The harsh economic situation in Nigeria is said to have caused a surge in substandard drugs and other health products. This is a survey has revealed that over 414,000 Nigerians die yearly from use of substandard drugs.

Most Nigerians believe that some top drugs manufacturers have left Nigeria in recent months, leading to scarcity of essential drugs. The Diabetes Association of Nigeria (DAN) is in the forefront of crying out loud, saying the exit of major pharmaceutical manufacturers has led to scarcity and over 300% increase in prices, saying most patients now faced death.

Apparently confirming the development, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said at a sensitization workshop in Port Harcourt on Thursday, September 26, 2024, that this part of the world (Nigeria), affordability, availability and quality have become a great challenge, particularly now that there is an economic downturn in Nigeria. NAFDAC however said harsh economic season was not only prevalent in Nigeria.

A medical practitioner, Idah Felix Waboso, who represented the Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Rivers State branch, revealed the NMA was available to partner with NAFDAC to fight Substandard and Falsified drugs because of the growing harm in substandard drugs.

He disclosed thus: “A recent survey released August 2, 2024, puts deaths arising from substandard malaria drugs at 267,000 and that from antimicrobial used for pneumonia at 147,000 yearly (totaling 414,000 deaths). It also estimated that between $12 to $44m is spent yearly to re-treat patients who used counterfeit or substandard drugs”.

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He posits that at the root of patients’ dissatisfaction is substandard drugs. Even when these drugs are purchased from credible Pharmaceutical stores and government hospitals.

Speaking at the event, the NAFDAC Director South-South zone, Chukwuma Oligbu, disclosed that the Agency has risen again to take the battle to the agents that push the substandard and fake drugs. He said the exercise was targeted at healthcare providers, on “The role of effective risk communication on consumer exposure to Substandard and Falsified (SF) medicines in Nigeria”.

Part of the war chest is series of sensitization workshops around Nigeria. In Port Harcourt, the agency explained that medical products were an integral and pivotal part of healthcare delivery and they need to be available, affordable and quality assured.

Oligbu however regretted that the economic downturn has taken a toll on the drugs industry by causing scarcity and outrageous prices.

Speaking further he highlighted two concepts which he said formed the focus of the workshop; Substandard and Falsified (SF) medical products.

According to him, “Substandard products are medical products that fail to meet either quality standards or their specifications, while falsified medical products are medical products that are deliberately or fraudulently misrepresented by their identity, composition or source.

“The presence of Substandard and Falsified products are a growing menace, and a crime against humanity. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal for 2030 emphasizes on safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines.

“The SF medical products are mostly found in countries where access to good medicines is limited or implementation of good manufacturing practice is poor or absent.”

He noted that the public health implication of Substandard and Falsified drugs is numerous, and they include; increase in hospital admissions, prolonged stay in the hospital, development of resistance, failure of treatment, and eventual death.

He remarked that NAFDAC has been doing so much to curb the menace of SF drug products that has plagued the nation as a whole, while enumerating some of the activities and efforts of the agency.

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Amongst the efforts of the agency were enhanced inspection process, drug product registration, collaboration with all Nigerian banks to ensure that drug importers get the agency’s clearance before financial documents are processed for them, issuance of guidelines to airlines that might lift drugs for importers without proper NAFDAC authorization, so that when they are caught, ignorance will not be an excuse.

“NAFDAC also carries out post marketing surveillance in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) specifications that enables set procedures for mopping up fake drugs that are already in circulation”, he revealed.

He further revealed that NAFDAC do carry out enforcement to destroy all fake, counterfeit, and falsified products that are circulating in the environment via the Investigation and Enforcement Directorate (IED), that is saddled with the responsibility.

“We also carryout public enlightenment campaigns. Recently we launched a programme on ‘Catch Them Young’, which aims at educating secondary school students about the dangers of drug abuse and substandard products, empowering them to make informed decisions, and focus on their education for a better future.

“We regularly publish list of identified fake substandard products in NAFDAC quarterly bulletin in the newspapers for public knowledge.

“We take advocacy to international regulatory authorities in China and India for collaboration in the fight against importation of fake drug products in Nigeria”, he said, while soliciting for the public support, as NAFDAC alone cannot curb the menace.

On his part, the Rivers State Coordinator of NAFDAC, Onogwu Emmanuel, while speaking on the sideline said the workshop was a necessary enlightenment programme for the various stakeholders of the agency, with the aim of participants helping to spread the message to people around them.

Emmanuel urged stakeholders thus: “If you see anybody selling any fake product, please report to NAFDAC, or to other relevant organizations that you know will take appropriate action. So if you see something, say something”.

While delivering her presentation at the workshop, the resource person, a NAFDAC Deputy Director Post Market Surveillance (PMS), Regina Garba, stressed that counterfeit drugs were no longer associated with developing countries, but that every country is affected. She urged participants at the workshop to cascade the training, and get their medical products from the right sources.

Giving a goodwill message, a Director of Pharmaceutical Service, Sinclair Nwankwo, reiterated the need for stakeholder collaboration, while calling on every stakeholder to come to the table, so the fight against Substandard and Falsified drugs in Nigeria can be won.

He appealed that the workshop should not be a one-off effect, but that from time to time, the agency should call stakeholders together to sit and have peer reviews on fake and substandard products.

On the part of the representatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Customs Service, the workshop is a good initiative by NAFDAC, and continuity is key in sustaining the effort.

In his goodwill message, Kanu Chiwunenye, opined that once drugs are compromised, it affects the entire medical process. He talked about the implications of fake drugs, and expressed worry that some of the falsified drugs have NAFDAC registration number.

Participants at the workshop commended the NAFDAC for organizing the workshop. One of the participant Amah Ogbonnaya from the Nigerian Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPPMED), said he has come to realize that people usually adulterate drugs that are in high demand, and that there are many fake and substandard drugs in the market. This he said calls for vigilance on the part of the public, to check for NAFDAC registration number and expiry date.

The workshop had in attendance members of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Nigerian Medical Association, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Customs Service and various other stakeholders.