Determined to curb the incidence of drug counterfeiting in the West African sub-region, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pharmacy Board of Sierra-Leone.

Speaking at the 1st NAFDAC Regulatory Forum in Lagos recently, the Director General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii noted that the signing of the MoU is expected to assist the two countries in finding a lasting solution to cross-boundary fake drug trafficking between the two countries and countries that share boundaries with two within the sub region.

Orhii also said the MoU would promote trade bilateral relations between the two countries especially on pharmaceutical and allied products.

He said henceforth, Nigerian drug manufacturers could freely walk to Sierra Leone and market their products, while their counterparts in Sierra Leone could come to Nigeria and do the same thing.

Talking about the achievements of the agency since he came on board, Orhii said a lot had been introduced to check-mate the incidence of drug trafficking in Nigeria. For instance, he noted that some technologies had been introduced, most important of which is the truscan which could enable drug consumers to detect on the spot whether the drug is genuine or fake. 

To facilitate this, he noted about 80 per cent of Nigerians use mobile phone and such people could use their phone to alert the agency anytime they suspect that the drug they are about to buy is fake.

He said registration of products had been made less cumbersome and could be completed within a period of three months as against what used to be about a year in the past. “If you have all your valid papers and the necessary documents ready, within a period of 90 days you will obtain NAFDAC certificate,” he said. 

As part of measures to meet the challenges of winning the battle against fake drugs and counterfeiting, Orhii said the agency has recently created new directorates, to reduce the workload of the existing ones.