The recent proliferation of fake and adulterated food and medicines in Nigerian markets should worry the authorities of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). As a result of the development, Nigerians have raised the alarm over the cloning of popular brands of food and drink products by unscrupulous persons. Similarly, illicit and counterfeit drug products from China and India have flooded markets in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin Republic, Guinea, Togo and other countries in West Africa.
It is also surprising that, at times, some of the cloned fake products bear NAFDAC registration numbers as a proof of their authenticity. It is laudable that officials of NAFDAC recently shut down over 240 shops in an Aba market over the sale of counterfeit drinks, food and drug products. According to the director-general of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the manufacturing of counterfeit products had been going on in Aba market for a long time. She also disclosed that the cartel threatened anyone who challenged them.
The cloning of popular food and drink products is not limited to Aba market. No doubt, these ‘merchants of death’ operate in other open markets located in Lagos, Ibadan, Kano, Kaduna, Onitsha and other cities across the country. Therefore, NAFDAC must extend its surveillance to other Nigerian markets where cloning of popular brands of food and drinks is the norm.
The current economic hardship and the search for cheaper alternatives by consumers may have emboldened the manufacturers of these fake and counterfeit products to unleash their killer products on Nigerians. The escalating cost of drugs and the quest for huge profits must have pushed many merchants of death to import fake and unwholesome drug products from India and China. The laxity in security and endemic corruption at the seaports must have aided easy passage of these fake products through our ports and porous borders.
The worrisome aspect is that the consumption of fake and adulterated food products has led to the death of thousands of Nigerians. Available statistics show that over 200,000 Nigerians die annually from the consumption of contaminated foods. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an estimated 600 million people, almost one in 10 people in the world, fall ill after eating contaminated food and 420,000 die every year, resulting in the loss of 33 healthy life years.
The global health agency also says that $100 billion is lost each year in productivity and medical expenses resulting from unsafe food in low- and middle-income countries. It notes particularly that children under five years of age carry 40 per cent of the food-borne disease burden, with 125,000 deaths every year.
It further says that substandard and falsified medical products may cause harm to patients and failure to treat the diseases for which they were intended. They also lead to loss of confidence in medicines, healthcare providers and healthcare systems. They affect every region of the world. The WHO points out that anti-malarials and antibiotics are among the most commonly reported substandard and falsified medical products. An estimated one in 10 medical products in low- and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified.
Medical experts are of the view that substandard and falsified medical products contribute to antimicrobial resistance and drug-resistant infections. These products can be found in illegal street markets, via unregulated websites through to pharmacies, clinics and hospitals. Considering the economic and health implications of the sale and consumption of fake and counterfeit food and drug products, we call on NAFDAC to overhaul its food and drug regulation systems.
With about 2,000 staff strength, NAFDAC cannot be said to be strongly equipped to oversee the administration and control of food and drug products for over 200 million people scattered over the vast land of Nigeria. Nothing epitomizes the laxity in the drug control system than the cloning of NAFDAC registration numbers of certain popular products. The agency needs more personnel to properly monitor products and ensure quality control. The proliferation of fake and unwholesome food and drug products in Nigerian markets is an indication that the food and drug regulation agency is not doing well in some departments.
NAFDAC must assure Nigerians of the safety of packaged foods and drinks in the country as well as those imported into the country. The agency must rise to the occasion and check the ongoing food fraud in the country arising from faking of popular products. We need stiffer laws against manufacturing and distribution of fake and counterfeit products in the country. The agency must wake up to its responsibilities and rein in the merchants of death.