Nigeria: U.S. Endorses Draft Policy to Eliminate Fake Drugs

he United States (U.S.) has said that full implementation of the planned National Quality Assurances Programme Guidelines will eliminate fake and substandard drugs and food products in Nigeria.

The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) at a two-day workshop in Lagos to review the draft copy of a National Quality Assurances Programme Guidelines said the project will ensure safety in medicines and other health products and the policy is expected to reduce adulterated drugs in Nigeria to the barest minimum.

The workshop, which took place at Dover Hotels Lekki, Lagos State, was attended by Directors of Pharmaceuticals Services (DPS) from every state in Nigeria, and was to reach a consensus on how the guideline will help to implement the draft.

The event was tagged "Agenda on Finalization of National Quality Assurances Program Guidelines Development workshop."

The programme is a Federal Ministry Health (FMoH) project sponsored by USAID-funded USP.

The FMoH pulled the necessary experts to make the draft. The policy, which started two years ago has been finalized and approved by the National Health Council (NHC).

The two-day event reviewed the policy, which have already been drafted, to make sure all the aspect of safety precautions from manufacturers down to the final consumers are met.

Chief of Party, Promoting the Quality of Medicines Program (PQM) of the USP, Dr. Chimezie Anyakora, said: "We have been able to support good policies in Nigeria. We work with Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) to make this policy. We also work with manufacturers, we go the companies we see the gaps and we work them through until they get to that level required."

Anyakora added, "Through the work we do, a company in this Nigeria is supplying medicines to other African countries through the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). We want to change the perception about quality of medicines in Nigeria. We want to work with companies that show interest, to build them in capacity and make them stronger beyond the local level.

"We also work with the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in quality assurance laboratory, we also work with NIPRD to make sure the country is strong enough in quality assurance infrastructure .We also work with the academia to help restructure the curriculum of mass training in Nigeria and make it strong in terms of quality assurance part of it. In this case Nigeria, will not only be export expertise but will have experienced graduates that will go anywhere in the world and play a very significant role."

The consultant pharmaceutical chemist continued: "This policy which was funded by the USAID. We thank them for that, but Nigerians designed it with the help of FMoH, NAFDAC and many other academia, manufactures but USAID led it technically."

On the possible result of the policy, Anyakora said the policy would eliminate fake drugs to its barest minimum; it will also reduce fake products through storage. Other countries are trying to copy this policy from Nigeria. It is the first in African and we hope when implemented, Nigeria will make very good use of it and the impact will be shown. Quality do not only ensure fake products, it also involve how it is been dispensed. This policy has everything you can think of concerning medicines and health products."