NAFDAC embarks on campaign against fake medicine, substandard products

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Sikirat Shehu

 

 

National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Thursday commenced sensitization campaign among people in the north central zone to protect them against negative  effects of unwholesome food, fake medical products, harmful cosmetics, poor water and other substandard products.

 

 

 

Speaking at the event in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, the director general of the agency, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, said that dissemination of safety information on food and drugs is an important aspect of the agency’s regulatory work.

 

Represented at the event by the director, north central of the agency, Mrs. Bolaji Abayomi, the director general

warned people on dangers of buying medicines from hawkers, saying that patients should buy medicines from only licensed pharmacies and medicine stores.

 

Professor Adeyeye also said that the campaign themes intended to address such public health challenges as abuse of Codeine and self-medication especially among youths.

 

“Others include dangerous effects of using kerosene tanker to load groundnut oil, dangerous practice of using potassium bromate to bake bread, use of Azo-dyes in palm oil which causes cancer,

dangers of using sniper to preserve any type of food or to keep flies away from meat, dangers of transfar and consumption of excessive oil, and use of formalin on food and its associated health hazards,” she said.

 

 

The director general, who lamented low level of exclusive breastfeeding practice by lactating mothers and its associated health hazards, encouraged mothers to practice exclusive breastfeeding for two years for good health of their children.

 

She also highlighted dangers of wrong use of pesticides and insecticides, wrong use of chemicals and its hazardous effects, as well as problem of antimicrobial resistance arising from animal meat.

 

“The key objective of this sensitization programme is to intensify and expand the scope of our informal and formal behaviour change communication strategies in order to reach the vulnerable communities especially at the grassroots. Dissemination of Food and Drug safety information is an important aspect of our regulatory work.

 

“It is common knowledge that Nigeria has a preponderant share of the global problem of falsified medical products and unwholesome food.

 

“The advent of Covid-19 Pandemic has aggravated the problem with the challenge posed by substandard and falsified Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).

 

“The sensitization campaigns will therefore contribute significantly to federal government’s efforts to inform, sensitize, educate and alert the public about inherent dangers of intake and use of those spurious regulated products,” she said.

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