Comprehension: NAFDAC and the Battle Against Makers of Counterfeit Drugs

In spite of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control’s (NAFDAC’s) attempts to put an end to the importation and manufacturing of counterfeit drugs in the country, those behind this criminal activity are not even giving up on their trade as recent arrests and discovered by NAFDAC show.

                   Each year, counterfeit drugs are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths worldwide, Nigeria inclusive. This means that counterfeit drug is a global problem. Popularly known as fake drugs, most deaths resulting from them occur through the harmful ingredients in them, thereby depriving patients of proper treatment. In Nigeria, drug counterfeiting is a menace that has eaten deep into the country’s health service delivery. Many deaths have occurred without them being traced to fake drugs. Producers of those drugs who have made so much money from the trade often take advantage of Nigeria’s weak laws and enforcement of these laws to continue perpetrating the acts.

                   Health experts have agreed that counterfeit drugs are deadly and kill slowly. Counterfeit drugs often contain a small amount of the real active ingredient in the products but they are not enough to be effective because producers of such drugs are cutting corners.

                   As of today, NAFDAC boasts that it has been able to reduce drug counterfeiting to less than 5 per cent. The Agency has also claimed that there is a sharp drop in kidney failures linked to the use of fake drugs in the country.

                   NAFDAC has embarked on seizures of counterfeit drugs, adulterated vegetable oil and other unwholesome food items.

                   On the punishment of such drug offenders in the country, NAFDAC settled for a life jail term and confiscation of assets of offenders, saying that the bill is presently before the National AssemblyThe National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a bicameral legislature established under section 4 of the Nigerian Constitution. It consists of a Senate with 109 members and a... More. According to NAFDAC, Nigeria is the most lenient on the issue of drug counterfeiting adding that countries such as China have zero tolerance for this offence as it attracts death sentences.

(Nigeria Tribune, Saturday 23rd October, 2010)