NAFDAC to medicine dealers: Buy drugs from genuine sources

ASABA—THE Director General, DG, of National
Agency for Food and Drug Administration and
Control, NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, has called on
patent medicine dealers to buy drugs only from
genuine and authenticated sources to make
the business of fake drugs unattractive.
NAFDAC Coordinator in Delta State, Ms Esther
Aburime who represented the Director General
in a seminar organised for members of the Delta
State chapter of the National Association of
Patent Proprietary Medicine Dealers, NAPPMED,
tagged ‘Fight against fake and substandard
regulated products – A fight for all’, organised
by Christabel International in conjunction with
NAFDAC in Asaba and Ughelli lamented the
consequences of fake drugs.
The NAFDAC DG attributed the menace of fake
and counterfeit drugs to one of the factors
militating against the attainment of the United
Nations Millennium Development Goals, MDGs,
4, 5 and 6 which advocates for reduction in
maternal health and combating HIV/AIDS,
malaria and other diseases.
According to the DG, “you can contribute by
reporting the ones you see; avoiding fake
products so that the perpetrators will not
flourish in the business and buying products
from authenticated sources and obtaining letter
headed receipts of purchase. Fake and
counterfeit medicines pose a great threat to the
attainment of these goals as well as the overall
public health. They cause several health
problems, including treatment failure organs
and system failure, economic loss, sickness
and death.”