NAFDAC refutes report on prevalence of fake drugs

The National Agency For Food and Drugs Administration and Control  (NAFDAC) at the weekend in Abuja refuted a report that claims 70 per cent of drugs in the country is fake.

NAFDAC’s Director, Special Duties, Dr. Abubakar Jimoh, insisted that the agency’s operations were based on scientific regulatory activities rather than trading of accusations and allegations.

Jimoh said that in 2005, NAFDAC and the World Health Organisation (WHO) carried out a joint baseline nationwide survey on counterfeit drugs in circulation, estimated at 16.7 per cent.

He said NAFDAC thereafter conducted another survey using a new device called True Scan, which helped it to distinguish between fake and genuine drugs. The survey indicated that counterfeit drugs had reduced to 6.4 per cent.