BY CHIOMA OBINNA
Efforts by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, to reduce the quantity of fake drugs in circulation in Nigeria appears to be having the desired effect if the recent nationwide survey conducted by the Agency is anything to go by.

Meanwhile, the Agency has shut down 12 bakeries in Ondo State for producing under unhygienic conditions just as it destroyed hundreds o f loaves of bread found to be unfit for human consumption.

During one of such surveys conducted in Lagos last week, an assessment of drugs stocked in registered pharmacies in some parts of the state showed only very few cases of fake drugs stocked.

The exercise was part of the ongoing nationwide’s TruScan surveillance aimed at checking decrease of fake and counterfeit drugs in circulation.

TruScan is a hand-held device used for on the spot assessment of quality of pharmaceutical products to ascertain their authenticity as well as curb activities of counterfeiters. So far the surveillance activities have been carried out in 26 States of the federation.

NAFDAC’s Deputy Director, Ports Inspection Director, Pharm. Comfort Makanjuola said the exercise which began in January 2010 was based on statistical data from risk assessment and risk profiling carried out on 15 commonly faked and used drugs in the country.

Assistant Director, Ports Inspectorate Directorate, Mrs. Aigbomian Leli said:

“With what we have seen in the 25 States and Lagos, so far, we have seen a gradual reduction of fake drugs. It is reducing. Our bags are almost empty today. Usually we come with very big bags but today we have very little to mop up.

“We ensure that all drugs have their signatures/pictures in the TruScan and when we test drugs, we compare them with the one already in the device. Once it matches the signature in the device that shows it is original but when it fails, it is fake.

In a related development, the Agency shut down 12 bakeries in Ondo State for producing under unhygienic conditions just as it destroyed hundreds o f loaves of bread found to be unfit for human consumption.

The Head of NAFDAC in Ondo State, Mr. Debo Agbejimi said the affected bakeries were operauing with unapproved ingredients such as potassium bromate, operating in dirty environment in complete disregard to basic standard operating procedure. The bakeries are to remain shut until the owners comply with NAFDAC’s regulations.

He warned that intensive inspection for verification exercise bordering on Food Safety management was on going in the state for those who are due for renewal of licences of their products/ premises.