The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, on Tuesday, destroyed counterfeit, fake and substandard drugs worth over one hundred million Naira in Enugu State.
The drugs, which were confiscated from traders and drug manufacturers, include beverages, malaria drugs, cosmetic products, drinks, among others.
Dr. Abubakar Jimo, the Director of Special Duties, who stood in for the NAFDAC Director General, Dr. Paul Orhii during the exercise said that NAFDAC was committed to ridding the nation of such products because of their harmful effect to the public.
Jimo disclosed that it would be a continuous exercise, which began last week with such illicit products being destroyed in Kaduna worth of N50 million.
He also disclosed that similarly, the organisation would go ahead to destroy 20 trailer loads of counterfeit drugs in Kano, 10 trailer loads of such illegal products in Onitsha, Anambra State and other states.
Speaking particularly about counterfeit drugs, he pointed out that everybody should join NAFDAC in fighting the menace because one did not know who would consume the fake drugs and suffer the consequence afterward.
Jimo, therefore, enjoined everybody including the drug manufacturers, the media and security agencies to help out in the fight against counterfeit drug.
He pointed out that what had been helping in the fight was the cutting edge technology employed by the NAFDAC boss, Dr. Orhii to fish out fake and counterfeit drugs as well as the hand device used by NAFDAC officials that could detect fake drugs from markets and pharmaceutical stores in the country.
Jimo also pointed out that NAFDAC was not alone in fight against the counterfeit drugs because it was working in collaboration with the World Health Organization, WHO, and other world class agencies that were partners in ridding the society of counterfeit products.
“Some think that NAFDAC has gone to sleep in the fight against fake drugs but it is not so; we are working silently through well coordinated approach.
“We are winning the war against drug counterfeiting”, he stressed.
Comments