*As fake drugs flood hospitals, markets, pharmacies, patent medicine stores, others
*We’re helpless, illicit drug traders frustrating our operations, NAFDAC
*Says they constantly devise new ways to evade enforcement due to financial gains
*Medical doctor faults absence of quality assessment laboratories in most Nigeria’s healthcare facilities
By Patrick Wemambu, Chika Okeke and Blessing Bature
The growing circulation of fake, substandard and falsified medicines in Nigeria has become a serious public health threat, putting the lives of millions of citizens at risk.
Despite repeated enforcement operations by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), counterfeit medicines continue to find their way into markets, pharmacies and other points of sale. Recent reports indicate that the problem remains widespread, raising concerns about the effectiveness of existing controls.
The danger posed by the illicit trade became more apparent in February when NAFDAC uncovered warehouses in Lagos containing more than 10 million doses of fake and banned medicines valued at about N3 billion.
The discovery underscored the scale of the criminal enterprise and the potential consequences for unsuspecting patients who may take such products believing they are genuine medicines.
Fake medicines can fail to treat illnesses, worsen patients’ conditions and, in some cases, cause serious injury or death.
The continued circulation of falsified antimalarial, antibiotic and other essential medicines is particularly disturbing because patients may delay seeking proper treatment after taking ineffective drugs.
Recent alerts by NAFDAC on falsified medicines, including Tavanic 500mg and an unauthorised Risperdal formulation, further demonstrate the need for constant vigilance.
A patient who spoke to Nigerian Pilot narrated how malaria drugs he bought over the counter worsened his illness and he was rushed to the hospital where it was confirmed the medicine he took was fake.
Reacting to the proliferation of fake and adulterated medicines in Nigeria, including those found in hospitals, the Resident Media Consultant to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Sayo Akintola said it is largely driven by the huge profits associated with the illicit drug trade.
Akintola said the persistence of counterfeit medicines should not be interpreted to mean that NAFDAC was not taking action, noting that the agency had intensified its enforcement operations and continued to seize and destroy fake and adulterated products across the country but that they are sometimes helpless due to frustrating activities of dealers in illicit drugs.
“The operators of the illicit trade were constantly devising new ways to evade enforcement because of the financial benefits involved”, he declared.
He recalled that NAFDAC confiscated more than 100 truckloads of fake medicines between February and March last year, a development he said received widespread public attention.
“It is not as if the agency is not doing anything at all. But the more you do this thing, the more all these people who have been enjoying the illicit trade for so long devise other means of continuing with the business.
“That is the problem. Personally, that is the way I look at it. These people are determined to continue with the business because they are making a lot of money from it”, he added.
Akintola added that NAFDAC had continued to intercept fake and adulterated medicines and other regulated products almost on a daily basis since the major seizures recorded last year.
He said the confiscated products were subsequently destroyed by the agency in line with regulatory procedures.
“We confiscate fake and adulterated medicines and food items, and we destroy them. We put it in the papers and in the news,” he added.
The consultant’s comments come amid renewed concerns over the circulation of counterfeit medicines in the country and reports of their availability even within healthcare facilities.
Meanwhile, a medical doctor, who preferred to remain anonymous, faulted the absence of Quality Assessment Laboratories in almost all the healthcare facilities in Nigeria.
He wondered why the annual health budget is poorly executed as Nigeria battles to contend with emerging diseases and rising cases of fake and adulterated drugs in medical facilities.
Commenting on the effects of fake drugs on the health of individuals, Dr. Charles Ugwuanyi, CEO, Wellington Neurosurgery Hospital in Abuja regretted that fake drugs damage the liver and kidneys.
“If you watch the trend of events, there is a lot of stem damages in concerned individuals. About eight million Nigerians are living with kidney failure. And the number is increasing every day.
“Other fake drugs can affect the heart and the brain”, he said.
On the way forward, Barr Frank Tietie, a legal practitioner and public affairs analyst lamented the failure of enforcement by both regulatory bodies and law-enforcement agencies.
