Doctors partner drug firms in fight against sales of fake products

The Chairman and Executives of the Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN), Oyo State Chapter, Dr. Dapo Adeniyi, has said doctors in Oyo State will use their 2019 Annual Health Forum to work with Pharmaceutical companies to stem the tide of fake and adulterated drugs in the country.

He said the state chapter of the AGPMPN, which is the umbrella body of Owners of Private hospitals in Nigeria, would hold its 2019 health forum, from Tuesday, July 30 to Friday, August 2, at the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) Secretariat, Total Garden in Ibadan.

Adeniyi said the forum is part of the effort to arrest the circulation and sales of fake drugs in Nigeria in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, who he said are the critical stakeholders.

While addressing the executives of the essociation at their Secretariat, last Thursday, Adeniyi explained that, to ascertain the effectiveness of stopping the menace of fake drugs, “we are inviting pharmaceutical companies, who manufacture, import as well as market drugs in Nigeria.”

“Through the exhibition of drugs, clinical presentations and sales to retailers, many of who are Members of The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, it becomes easier for doctors to assess the quality of drugs in the country,” Adeniyi said.

Speaking on participants, he said: “Doctors and retailers who are experts in various fields from all the six States of the Southwest – Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Oyo will participate in the four-day Health Forum.”

Adeniyi further said the forum would be used as a platform for Continuing Medical Education (CME), where Senior Consultants from various medical fields will provide specialised training sessions for medical students and doctors.

He added that the planned CME would help consolidate the knowledge and skills of doctors and pharmacists, noting that lectures, seminars and scientific sessions that hinge on a wide cross-section of medical skills, including pharmacology, family health, ophthalmology, mental health, cancer, and other varying ailments would be covered.