Raphael Ede As part of measures to combat counterfeit medicines, the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control has urged stakeholders in the medicine sales value chain to verify the source of their medical products and obtain receipts for purchases. This move, it said, aims to combat substandard and falsified medicines, ensuring public safety. NAFDAC South East Zonal Director, Mr.
Martins Iluyomade, emphasized the importance of collective action against counterfeit medicines during a grassroots awareness campaign in Enugu on Monday. Iluyomade stressed that the fight requires collaboration from all stakeholders, promising tangible results soon. He said, “Verify the source of medical products and obtain receipts for purchases.
Break the culture of silence; report suspicious activities. The fight against counterfeit medicines requires a united front.” NAFDAC’s efforts, he said, aim to safeguard public health and prevent harmful products from entering the market.
He averred that substandard and falsified medical products pose a major threat to public health and socio-economic development, and Nigeria is not left out. He explained that substandard medical products are those that have been authorized by national authorities but fail to meet either quality standards or specifications, or both, whereas ‘falsification’ refers to the deliberate/ fraudulent misrepresentation of a drug’s identity, composition, or source. He added, “The World Health Organizat.