The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has urged Nigerians to join the fight against the circulation of counterfeit and fake medical products.
The agency stated that this could be achieved through the use of its latest verification app, the Greenbook.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, made the call at the opening ceremony of a two-day sensitisation and awareness workshop on the Greenbook, traceability project, and paediatric policy in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Adeyeye explained that the NAFDAC Greenbook, a comprehensive database of registered drug products in Nigeria, was introduced to help the agency counter the advanced methods used in the production and distribution of counterfeit medicines.
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Adeyeye who was represented by the Director of the Post-Marketing Surveillance Directorate, NAFDAC, Fraden Bitrus, emphasised that the workshop aims to ensure regulators and stakeholders work together in combating substandard and falsified medical products.
The NAFDAC DG further revealed that Nigeria is the first country in Africa to use this technology and the second in the world.
In her goodwill message, the Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Adaeze Oreh, assured the state’s commitment to working with NAFDAC to clamp down on counterfeit drugs.
Oreh, represented by the Rivers State Coordinator for Drug and Substance Abuse Control and Focal Person for Pharmacovigilance, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Quanta Dappa, commended the NAFDAC DG for her efforts in ensuring the country is free from unsafe drugs.