NIGERIA’s National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control has called for synergy among African countries in the fight against counterfeit pharmaceutical products in the continent.
The Director General of the agency, Dr Paul Orhii, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at a meeting of Medicine Regulatory Authorities in West Africa.
He expressed concern over the burden of diseases in Africa, noting that the pharmaceutical security institution data showed that counterfeiters were targeting developing countries where the burden of diseases was high.
Orhii said that the negative effect of counterfeit medicines posed a significant challenge to both the economy and the people.
“There is a great need for all African countries to collaborate in eradicating counterfeit medicine, if one country does it alone, the result will not be satisfactory, it can resurface again.
“But once we collaborate and join hands together, we can achieve good result.
“The major challenge faced by regulatory agencies all over the world is counterfeit medicine. The essence of regulation is to protect public health,’’ he said.
Orhii said that anti malaria, anti diabetic agent were some of the most commonly counterfeited medicines.
While reviewing a study conducted by NAFDAC, WHO, DFID, Orhii said in 2001 counterfeit products stood at 40 per cent as against 16.7 per cent in 2005 in Nigeria.
He said the national survey on quality of medicine using Truscan Technology, showed that counterfeit medicine stood at 6.4 per cent in 2012.
According to Orhii, the health implication of counterfeit medicines is enormous as “it denies patients access to quality medicine leading to treatment failure and death”.
Orhii said the Federal Government was trying to ensure that manufacturers of medicine meet up with the WHO pre-qualification exercise in terms of quality.
“NAFDAC has actively encouraged the local pharmaceutical industries to work toward attaining WHO pre-qualification.
“The WHO pre-qualification will facilitate access to medicine that meets standard of quality, safety and efficacy for HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB,’’ he added.
In her remark, the Programme Officer, West African Health Organisation, Mrs Sybil Ossei-Agyeman-Yeboah, said the essence of the meeting was to initiate strategies to fast track access to quality medicine.
“The ECOWAS region with a population of about 300 million estimated in 2005, with an annual rate of 2.8 per cent, has the market size and the need for quick access to quality medicine,’’ she said.
Also speaking, the President of the West African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, Mr Bunmi Olaopa, said the meeting was expected to facilitate access to essential medicines in the region.
He said the meeting was also expected to promote supply of medicines from Africa to Africa, the harmonisation of medicine registration and to bridge the gap between the pharmaceutical industry and regulators.
Stakeholders from Liberia, Ghana, Sierra leone, Guinea, Gambia and Nigeria are attending the meeting.