Tilova For Africa, a non-profit and advocacy organization, has called for a deliberate strategy to curb the influx of fake, adulterated, and expired drugs into Nigeria, describing it as an evil act.
According to the United States-based group, this development is endangering the health and well-being of the country and its people, as it called for immediate action by the government.
Recall that the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, which is charged with primary health welfare delivery under the Federal Ministry of Health, had stated that about 70 per cent of drugs distributed in the country are substandard or counterfeit.
It is believed that imported fake and substandard drugs in Nigeria come mainly from India, China, Pakistan, Egypt, and Indonesia. Some are also manufactured locally by unscrupulous elements.
TFA said that substandard or counterfeit drugs were responsible for the growing number of cases of high blood pressure, kidney failure, liver disease, heart failure, and stroke, among other illnesses in Nigeria.
It called on the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control to partner with health authorities in India, China, Pakistan, Egypt, and Indonesia to help stop the exportation of substandard drugs to Nigeria.
Co-founder of TFA, Martin Nwabueze, a pharmacist, in a statement yesterday, stressed the need for vigilance and action: “We should be vigilant and ready to rid the country of substandard or counterfeit drugs because of dangers inherent in them. For example, when people are ingesting fake or substandard antihypertension drugs, their blood pressure will spike because what the patients or victims are swallowing is trash or poison. And with time, the victims will develop stroke, suffer immensely and eventually die.”
Nwabueze provided shocking details on the composition of these illicit products: “The most shocking of this evil act is the content of the things sold as drugs. Some of these fake drugs contain things like cotton wool, chalk or milk in capsules. In some cases, they contain little of the active ingredients.”
He gave an example of ingredient dilution: “For instance, if they want to fake a drug like chloroquine, they will put a little chloroquine to make it bitter as expected. So, rather than put 200 mg chloroquine that should be in the tablet, they will put less than half of the required quantity in the tablet. Then the patient will swallow it without getting required results.”
He also highlighted the serious consequence of antibiotic resistance: “There are many cases of patients who no longer respond to genuine antibiotics as a result of resistance induced by previous intake of fake antibiotics.”
The pharmacist also warned the public about the sophistication of the counterfeiters: “People buying drugs should be very careful. The counterfeiters can be so smart that you can hardly distinguish between original and fake drugs, the same vial, the same label, everything identical. Some hospitals even administer fake drugs in place of genuine ones because they have been deceived.”
He summarized the devastating effects of the scourge: “Adulterated or fake drugs negatively affect various spheres of existence, ranging from health, which manifests as treatment failures, deformities, loss of life to death, to loss of confidence in the healthcare providers, revenue losses to individuals, healthcare providers and manufacturers, among others.”
Nwabueze concluded by demanding forceful action from the government: “Medicines regulators like NAFDAC, PCN, the PSN, and Federal Ministry of Health should declare a war on the scourge. In fact, the Federal Government should declare a state of emergency on fake and adulterated medicines for the well-being of our people. Our people are suffering and dying everyday. Enough is enough,” he added.
