Achievements

• Creation of 6 Zonal and 36 state offices for easier accessibility, which are being equipped to function effectively.
• Organizing workshops to enlighten various stakeholders: (a) Pure water producers (b) Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers Association (PPMDA), (c) National Union of Road Transport Workers and National Union of Road Transport Owners (NURTW & NURTO), etc.
• NAFDAC has not only created a lot of awareness in Nigeria, we have also sensitized other countries e.g. India, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, etc.
• In concert with Chairman, House Committee on Health and his members, we have held meetings with Ambassadors of countries identified with exporting fake drugs into Nigeria and solicited their support to stop this ugly trend.
• During the Indo – African health summit, we carried campaign to the government of India with the result that Indian food and drugs sends us lists of companies with failed products, which is commendable.
• To enhance NAFDAC’s sensitization exercise, jingles were carried at primetimes in both radio and television (NTA).
• The results of the public enlightenment are very cheering because last year alone, drugs worth about 2 billion Naira were destroyed publicly. These fake drugs were from four sources; those handed over by repentant traders, those found in secret warehouses on tip off by the drug sellers and the public, and those seized by the drug sellers’ internal task forces and NAFDAC task forces.
• To ensure that the wholesale Drug Mart comes to be, because it is the bedrock of the sanitization exercise.
• Making NAFDAC activities more efficient to reduce delays in registration/inspection, etc.
• NAFDAC has held consultations with national and international stakeholders leading to various areas of assistance; in the areas of staff training, equipment donations and information sharing from United States Food and Drug Agency (USFDA), Environmental and Occupational Health Science Institute (EOHSI), South African Medicines and Medical Devices regulatory Agency (SAMMDRA), etc.
• NAFDAC has sent proposals for reviewing obsolete laws to the National Assembly.
• New guidelines and Standard Operating procedures (SOP) have been put in place for all regulatory processes.
• Our laboratories are being equipped and up-dated daily for reliable analysis.
• NAFDAC is back to the ports and NAFDAC staff are leaving no stone unturned, to track down the importers of fake and unregistered products. We have also increased our surveillance activities with organized, sustained monitoring of factories and sale outlets.
• NAFDAC has put in place organized and sustained surveillance at all selling outlets as against the old sporadic military approach.
• Regular publications of list of identified fake/substandard products are made in five Nigerian newspapers.
• A new directorate of enforcement was created and new Directors have been appointed to strengthen the various directorates for effective management.
• New tariffs have been approved to replace the old ones that were no more in touch with current realities.
• WHO has agreed to NAFDAC’s plan to carry out a Pan – Nigerian survey to ascertain the level of substandard products in circulation.
• The following new guidelines have been put in place to ensure the importation of genuine drugs into Nigeria:
• Before the registration or renewal of registration of any product, NAFDAC inspectors must inspect the production plants in the exporting country. In the case of drugs, the factory must be ‘WHO Certified’, to ensure good manufacturing practice. This inspection is extended to plantations and orchards in the case of fruit juices, etc.
• In future, before drugs are imported into Nigeria even after registration, NAFDAC approved analysts in the respective countries must conduct a pre-shipment analysis of the drugs before they are shipped to Nigeria. Any drug without certification paper from our approved analysts will not be acceptable. Arrangements have been concluded for it to kick off on June 1st in India, and this will be followed by other countries.
• If there is no evidence of commencement of product renewal three months after the expiration of the product registration, the registration of the product will be automatically cancelled and when this is done, it will never be revisited.
• Importers must insist that their foreign partners affix NAFDAC registration number on the packaging of their products to be imported into Nigeria.