The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control on Wednesday began sensitisation of stakeholders in the Northwest zone on the newly introduced technologies as parts of renewed effort to mitigate the activities of counterfeiters in the country.
The Director General of the Agency, Prof. stated this on Wednesday in at a two-day Sensitisation and Awareness Workshop on GreenBook, Traceability Project and Pediatric Policy in North West, held at the Digital Bridge Institute, Kano.
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The Director General represented by Director Post Market Surveillance, Mr. Bitrus Fraden said the introduction of the new technologies became necessary because the counterfeiters have assumed more sophisticated dimensions to advance their trade.
“The agency is poised to use technologies and modern means to mitigate the activities of counterfeiters and therefore the need for sensitization of stakeholders is apt,” she said.
Prof. Adeyeye said the the workshop aims to provide information, sensitize stakeholders, and provide hands-on training on the NAFDAC Greenbook, the Traceability Regulation 2024 and the Pediatric Regulation 2024.
This ensures that the regulator and the regulated are on the same page in combating substandard and falsified medical products.
She noted that Nigeria has grappled with a man-made evil called substandard and falsified products, commonly known as counterfeit and fake medical products which are being produced by greedy businessmen and their international collaborators to get rich or make money.
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“The Greenbook is an online resource for identifying a product’s source.
If the product is listed in the Greenbook, it signifies that it has been registered by NAFDAC and is considered authentic.
The Greenbook serves as a tool to help consumers identify and avoid potentially fake or substandard products.
“The Pediatric Regulation 2024 is a special Regulation to address the special needs of our children,” The Director General added.
She, therefore, called on all stakeholders in the healthcare space to support these laudable initiatives to combat substantial and falsified medical products as well as to ensure that only quality, safe, and efficacious medical products are provided to Nigerians.
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In her remark, the Deputy Director, Post Market Surveillance, Dr Rajina Garba said the two-day workshop was designed to ensure that all care givers and other relevant stakeholders are well informed about the Scan2Verify device to enable them detect counterfeit and fake medical products.
“All the participants are expected to be well informed in identifying counterfeit drugs in order to send counterfeiters out of business forthwith,” she said.
