The war against fake drugs has received a boost in Yobe State, with Governor Ibrahim Gaidam directing the Commissioner for Land to provide land for the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to build its offices.
He asked the Head of Service to provide office accommodation for the agency in the two senatorial districts to reduce the logistic challenges facing NAFDAC.
Gaidam, who promised to provide a vehicle to the agency to assist it in patrolling the state, said the donations were in demonstration of the government’s commitment to assisting NAFDAC to rid the state of drug misuse and poor handling of pesticides and agro-chemicals.
He made the donations during a visit by the NAFDAC’s Acting Director-General, Mrs. Yetunde Oni, in his office.
Mrs Oni was on the visit to inform the governor of the agency’s campaign on “Rational use of controlled medicines, safe handling of chemicals and responsible use of pesticides and agricultural chemicals” in the state.
The campaign, Mrs Oni said, would empower people with the right knowledge in drug misuse and proper handling of agro-chemicals.
While declaring the sensitisation workshop open, Gaidam described the initiative as a bold step by the NAFDAC to enlighten the public about the dangers of irrational use of drugs, pesticides and chemicals.
He said: “This way, the public will be kept abreast of the unpleasant consequences for society if left unchecked.”
Earlier, Mrs. Oni, who presented the requests for land and accommodation to the governor, said the NAFDAC’s office, a warehouse and a laboratory complex would be built on the land, adding that they would enhance the performance of the agency in the state via shortening the registration and bringing the agency closer to the grassroots.
Mrs. Oni said the enlightenment was one of the strategies deployed by NAFDAC to fight substandard and falsified medical products, unwholesome and spurious regulated products.
“We will continue to sensitise the public on the public health implications of these substandard, falsified and unwholesome regulated products and the efforts of NAFDAC in tackling this ugly menace,” she said.
She added that collaboration was essential to building sustainable strategies against these problems in addition to other challenges, such as drug abuse as well as misapplication of pesticides and herbicides, which have led to the rejection of these value-added agricultural products in the international market.
According to her, the health implication caused by this challenge informed the efforts of NAFDAC to educate farmers, herders and other handlers on the appropriate and safe use of pesticides, and develop Guidelines and Standard Operating Procedure for Chemical Regulation and Control to address emerging issues.
She added: “Risk assessment and Field Trials of fertiliser have been introduced for effective control and management of agrochemicals.”
Mrs. Oni implored Nigerians to continue to support NAFDAC in the fight against the proliferation of substandard and falsified medical products, unwholesome food and other substandard or spurious regulated products.
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