The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned the general public against patronising substandard products and buying medicines from hawkers.
NAFDAC advises patients to ensure that they buy medicines only from licensed pharmacies and medicine stores.
Speaking at a recent sensitisation campaign in north-central Nigeria, Mojisola Adeyeye, the director-general of NAFDAC, said there was the need for the citizens to protect them against negative effects of unwholesome food and fake medical products.
According to her, the dissemination of safety information on food and drugs is an important aspect of the agency’s regulatory work.
Adeyeye, who was represented by Bolaji Abayomi, the agency’s director in the north-central zone, said the campaign was intended to address public health challenges as abuse of Codeine and self-medication especially among youths.
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“Others include dangerous effects of using kerosene tanker to load groundnut oil, dangerous practice of using potassium bromate to bake bread, use of Azo-dyes in palm oil which causes cancer, danger of using sniper to preserve any type of food or to keep flies away from meat, consumption of excessive oil, and use of formalin on food and its associated health hazards.
“The key objective of this sensitisation is to intensify and expand the scope of our informal and formal behaviour change communication strategies in order to reach the vulnerable communities especially at the grassroots. Dissemination of food and drug safety information is an important aspect of our regulatory work.
“It is common knowledge that Nigeria has a preponderant share of the global problem of falsified medical products and unwholesome food.
“The advent of COVID-19 Pandemic has aggravated the problem with the challenge posed by substandard and falsified Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).
“The sensitisation campaigns will, therefore, contribute significantly to federal government’s efforts to inform, sensitise, educate and alert the public about inherent dangers of intake and use of those spurious regulated products,” she said.
