The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has disclosed that more than 50% of certificates issued for pharmaceutical products imported into Nigeria are fake.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, made this disclosure during a stakeholders’ engagement meeting held in Abuja.
At the meeting attended by regulators, policymakers, and law enforcement agencies, Prof Adeyeye emphasized the critical importance of ensuring that medical products circulating in Nigeria meet quality, safety, and efficacy standards.
She highlighted the significant threat posed by substandard and falsified products to access to safe and affordable medicines, ultimately undermining efforts to achieve universal health coverage in Nigeria and across Africa.
What she said
- Adeyeye explained that the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CPP), issued in the format recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), serves as a guarantee of the quality of pharmaceutical products and the integrity of the exporting country.
- However, she lamented that despite efforts to ensure product quality, a concerning number of CPPs arriving in Nigeria are fake.
- The Director-General attributed the prevalence of counterfeit certificates to various factors, including compromised individuals involved in the importation process.
- She stressed NAFDAC’s commitment to stringent regulatory measures, blacklisting non-compliant companies, and taking swift action against those compromising product quality.
- Highlighting the broader threat of substandard and falsified medicines in Africa, Adeyeye underscored the need for enhanced regulatory processes and market control.
- Only a fraction of national regulatory agencies in Africa have attained maturity level three, a standard indicative of effective market control processes.
NAFDAC, she affirmed, is actively engaged in combating substandard and falsified medicines through prevention, detection, and response strategies.
The agency’s efforts have been recognized internationally, with the World Health Organization certifying NAFDAC as a stable, well-functioning regulatory system. This certification positions NAFDAC for inclusion in the WHO Listed Authority, a global recognition of regulatory bodies meeting international standards.