NAFDAC DG blames regulatory gaps for Nigeria’s counterfeit medicine crisis

Since taking over the helms of affairs as the director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Moji Adeyeye – a pharmacist and professor has given the regulatory agency a new lease of life.

Nigeria’s longstanding problem with counterfeit and substandard medicines is partly the result of gaps in the country’s pharmaceutical regulatory system, Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has said.

Adeyeye made the disclosure during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, amid renewed scrutiny of NAFDAC’s efforts to tackle the circulation of falsified and unapproved medicines and other regulated products.

According to her, changes in the regulation of patent medicine dealers over the years contributed to the expansion of open drug markets and allowed people without sufficient knowledge of medicines to enter the trade.