The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NAFDAC

  • NMA to NAFDAC: Stop fraudulent herbal products’ adverts

    NMA to NAFDAC: Stop fraudulent herbal products’ adverts

    The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has called on National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to review its regulation on advertisement of herbal products on the electronic and print media.
    The President of the NMA, Dr. Osahon Enabulele made the call in Abuja in his paper entitled: ‘Effective leadership in eradicating fake and unwholesome drugs’ during a public presentation of a book, “Modern approach to food and drugs administration and control: NAFDAC success story”, written by Ms. Christabel Julie Okoye.
    According to him, the menace of fake and unwholesome drugs is caused by several factors and sustained by “a global network of very rich and influential clique.”
    He also pushed for stiffer sanctions and continuous publication of companies which have been blacklisted due to drug counterfeiting by NAFDAC.
    He said: “The menace of fake and unwholesome drugs and food products has remained a global concern since it first got global recognition at the World Health Organization Conference of Experts on Rational Drug use held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1985.”
    “As it is well known, the menace of fake drugs which is fuelled by several factors, amongst which are the prevalent socio-economic and political situations in most countries, is sustained by a global network of very rich and influential clique.”
    According to him, fake and counterfeit drugs which first got on the ascendancy in the mid- 80s, is propelled by several factors which include, but not limited to poor socio-economic situation of Nigeria with over 70% of Nigerians still living on less than N154 per day and “the bug bear of corruption which impinges on the regulatory function of government agencies.”
    He maintained that all these factors amongst others have conspired to undermine the Health and Productivity of Nigerians as well as the economy of Nigeria.
    “This explains why some have described the menace as an evil bug bean and buga boo that must be conquered by the Collective efforts of Government and all Citizens of the World.”
    He went on: “I suggest review of the extant laws to provide for stiffer penalties for offenders. In this vein, I totally support the call by NAFDAC’s DG for life imprisonment for offenders, with no option of fine. There should be improved surveillance/monitoring by the Regulatory Agencies, including NDLEA and Standard Organization of Nigeria
    “There should be review of the tariff for registration of drug products to drive greater commitment to quality by drug importers; there should be publication of blacklisted companies and improved revenue base for NAFDAC to enable her establish offices in all states of Nigeria, as well as increase in the number of laboratories controlled by NAFDAC.”
    Other measures, he said, should include review of NAFDAC registration of herbal products and strengthening of NAFDAC’s regulation of advertisements of medical products.
  • Foreigners’ affront

    Foreigners’ affront

    •The arrest of a Chinese company executive should be the established pattern

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sealed off Chung Full Nigeria Limited for arrant abuse of business ethics. The company is the manufacturer of Osaki range of table water, suspected to be capable of causing hurt to human health. Mr Ksui Kim, its Chinese managing director and four other officials of the company,were arrested for allegedly masterminding the production and sale of such injurious water.

    The company, from reports, had been placed on surveillance by NAFDAC over time due to suspicion that it infracts on industrial guidelines and procedures. There were reported instances of when officials of the regulatory agency, in the line of duty, were prevented from entering the company’s premises. The Mende, Maryland area, Lagos State office of the company was a no-go area for the regulatory authority, supposedly, on the orders of Kim.

    Surprisingly, the company allegedly subverted the law providing for implementation of good manufacturing practices in the country, and also flagrantly impeded the discharge of NAFDAC duties as statutorily provided for by its enabling law.

    Mr. Garba Macdonald, NAFDAC’s Director of Enforcement, described the company’s onslaught against the law, coupled with its operating from an insanitary residential apartment, during a visit thus: “As you have seen, this is an1 unhygienic environment and the company has been producing table water without a valid registration certificate, which is a clear violation of NAFDAC’s regulations.”

    What a mockery of the nation’s system for a foreigner to operate such a company! That is one of the greatest acts of industrial impunity that can be committed against any sovereign nation by a foreigner.

    Can Kim engage in such unethical practices in his home country? There is no doubt that China, a no-nonsense country when it comes to issues of fraud and ethics, will not condone such crass impunity from its own nationals, not to talk of foreigners. This is why government officials that are involved in enforcement of ethics, standards and industrial procedures should be up and doing in the discharge of their duties. NAFDAC ought to have taken lawful steps to stop this company from operating a long time ago.

    Henceforth, foreigners, irrespective of their countries of origin, just as Nigerians operating in the country should be compelled to adhere to the rules of engagement. Nigeria is in dire need of foreign investment but we wonder if it is in the area of table water. It is adding salt to injury when even a foreigner who sees that as a business to embark upon in the country would do so without consideration for public hygiene. Definitely, Mr. Kim is not alone in this. There have been other reported incidents of foreigners that short-changed the country in the management of their companies’ affairs. However, because no scapegoat has been made of any of them, this gives impetus to the continuation of the type of illegality recently discovered in Chung Full Nigeria Limited.

    Relevant authorities must ensure that this matter is pursued to a logical conclusion. Those involved in the kind of activities that Chung Full Nigeria Limited is alleged to be doing should face the consequence of their action in accordance with the nation’s laws. We should not be seen to be running an industrial jungle in the name of attracting foreign investors.

     

  • Counterfeit drugs in circulation, says NAFDAC

    The production and circulation of counterfeit drugs in the country is on decline, National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Director-General, Dr Paul Orhii has said.

    He spoke at a meeting with Inspectors and Registrars of Medicines from seven West African countries in Abuja.

    According to him, the prevalence of fake drugs, which was as high as 40 percent of medicines in circulation in 2001, has dropped to 6.4 per cent.

    He said: “According to studies conducted by NAFDAC from 2001 to 2012, there is a positive trend which shows a progressive decrease in counterfeit medicines in Nigeria.
    “The studies which were in collaboration with World Health Organisation (WHO) showed that in 2001, counterfeit stood at 40 percent as against 16.7 per cent in 2005.
    “National Survey on Quality of Medicines using Truscan showed that counterfeits stood at 6.4 per cent in 2012.”

    He said anti-malaria medicines are the most affected as about 19.6 percent of the medicines in circulation in Nigeria have been found to be counterfeits.

    “We took 910 samples of anti malaria medicines for the National Survey on Quality of Medicines. 732 of these samples passed, while 178 of the samples failed. The percentage of the anti malaria samples that passed was 80. 4, while the failure was 19.6 percent,” He stated.

    He stressed that the general low percentage recorded now is being threatened by renewed upsurge in the importation of counterfeit medicines into the country by drug barons.

    To really put a stop to the illicit business in Nigeria, he said that the Agency is pushing for review of its law to give life imprisonment for anybody found guilty of importing or producing fake medicines in Nigeria.

    Nigeria, he said, would soon sign a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government to outlaw the importation of fake drugs from China to Nigeria.

  • Curbing fake drugs

    • Action should be expedited on proposed law

    IF things go as planned, people involved in drug counterfeiting or importation of fake drugs into the country will soon begin to get life imprisonment, without an option of fine. Dr. Paul Orhii, director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), who dropped the hint said the government was also considering confiscation of the property of people involved in the illicit and killer business to compensate the victims.

    Orhii, who spoke during a meeting of the West African Health Organisation to harmonise the process of medicine registration in West Africa said that experts working on the country’s anti-counterfeiting law have made significant progress on the document and that they would send it to the National Assembly after concluding work on it.

    This is good news. In India and China, the wages of the crime is death. And, one may be tempted to want to recommend that Nigeria toes this path in view of the fatal consequences of the actions of the criminals involved in the illegal business. Perhaps the realisation by those putting the proposed legislation together, that headache cannot be cured simply by beheading those suffering from it should also be welcome.

    Fake drugs are often manufactured in dirty, unhygienic warehouses and sometimes can contain little or none of the genuine active ingredient, or remarkably harmful industrial compounds. The least harm one could suffer from buying of such drugs is for them to be ineffective, i.e. when the active ingredients are below what is claimed on their containers. In many cases, people have died after taking such drugs; many others suffered permanent deformities.

    We understand the basis of the proposal to deny bail to suspects held for the crime; that is to prevent them from continuing their trade, thereby stopping them from further jeopardising the lives of innocent members of the public. But we wonder if that can stand in our legal milieu where an accused is deemed innocent until proven otherwise by a competent court of law.

    However, we urge those putting the law together to expedite action and forward it to the National Assembly. While we urge the law makers to scrutinise the document, with a view to making it water-tight; they should also expedite action on it when it gets to them so as to save their compatriots from untimely deaths or deformities arising from consumption of counterfeited drugs.

    But we also want to quickly remind the authorities that the problem is not about legislation per se. Right now, there are laws prescribed for people involved in drug counterfeiting; but enforcement is the problem. Even if death penalty is prescribed for the offence and the law is not enforced, there won’t be appreciable result. Again, it does not seem NAFDAC is well funded and equipped to do the job thoroughly. For the proposed law to be meaningful when it becomes operational, the agency must be provided the wherewithal to adequately cover the whole country.

    Fake drug business is big business and those involved in it have become too sophisticated to be trailed or monitored by an under-funded and ill-equipped agency. For the law to be effective, NAFDAC officials must always be a step ahead of the criminals. This implies that the whistle blowers should start to benefit from the incentives that Dr Orhii said were in the offing for them to further encourage them to put in their best.

    It is also important that the Federal Government expedite action on the Memorandum of Understanding between it and China to check the influx of fake and substandard drugs from that country. China is not just a major exporter of drugs to Nigeria; it is also one of the world’s biggest exporters of counterfeit drugs.