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From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC), has expressed regrets over the rising circulation of substandard and uncertified medical products and foods in the country.
NAFDAC has also vowed to sustain the fight against illicit drug, cosmetics, food products and other items in the country.
The agency said it was working tirelessly to fish out those involved in the act, declaring zero tolerance for the menace.
Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Moji Christianah Adeyeye, made the vow at the flag-off of the agency’s sensitization campaign in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday.
Adeyeye, who was represented by the Director South South Zone, Subulade Isijola, noted that the campaign was in eight states of the Federation, adding that the public awareness campaign was one of the veritable regulatory mechanisms put in place by NAFDAC to promote and protect the health of Nigeria.
She noted that an educated citizenry was the bedrock of effective regulation, noting that the event was arranged to protect Nigerians against the deleterious effects of unwholesome food, falsified medical products, harmful cosmetics, poor water and other substandard regulated products.
The NAFDAC boss said decried the manufacturing and distribution of substandard products, worrying that fake Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) have flooded the Nigerian market.
She said: “It is common knowledge that Nigeria has a preponderant share of the global problem of falsified medical products and unwholesome food.
“I want to reassure you that NAFDAC under my watch will not leave any stone unturned in our concerted efforts to rid the country of the menace of falsified medical products, unwholesome food, harmful cosmetics, poorly packaged water and other substandard regulated products.
“The advent of COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated the problem with the challenge posed by substandard and falsified Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
“The sensitization campaigns will, therefore, contribute significantly to Federal Government’s concerted efforts to inform, sensitize, educate and alert the public about inherent dangers of intake and use of those spurious regulated products.”
Earlier, Director, Public Affairs, Abuja, Abubakar Jimoh, said the sensitization served as part of recruitment for the public to take part in the fight against illicit products.
Jimoh said: “We have decided to recruit all of you in the vanguard of the campaign because we cannot do it on our own. We are talking of a population of over 200 million Nigerians and a staff strength of below 3,000. We cannot do that alone.
“The important thing is to leverage on our size as key stakeholders, so we can disseminate the information to every corner of the country.”
