Dismantling fake drug syndicates

The ongoing war against fake drug syndicates across the country by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has apparently recorded some achievements with the successful raiding of some drug warehouses in Aba, Onitsha and Idumota open drug markets. In the raid at the cemetery Market in Aba, Abia Sate, NAFDAC seized counterfeit food and pharmaceutical products worth over N5billion.

The agency also raided some buildings filled with expired drugs and supplements at Umumeje village in Umuocheala community in Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area of Abia State. According to the zonal Director of NAFDAC, South-East, Martins Iluyomade, the fake drugs include 2021 expired Potassium Chloride, Extended-Release Tablets, USP 750mg, cartons of Levorid Tablets and others. 

At the Onitsha open drug market popularly known as ‘ogba ogwu’ in Bridge Head, Onitsha, Anambra State, the agency seized assorted counterfeit and expired drugs worth millions of naira. The confiscated drugs include expired, banned, substandard, deflective, repackaged and recalled drugs. According to Iluyomade, “some of the drug dealers are in the habit of imitating some popular drugs and pouring them into containers of original manufacturer in order to deceive unsuspecting members of the public. And these drugs are very sensitive that they can lead to death or permanent disability of the consumer.”

Similarly, the agency sealed over 3,000 shops within the open drug market in Idumota, Lagos. NAFDAC during the raid discovered vaccines stored in dilapidated, unventilated rooms sealed with iron sheets in highly unsanitary conditions, large consignments of banned products, including Analgin injections, diverted free-HIV antiretroviral drugs, expired medicines set for revalidation and unregistered pharmaceuticals.

Arising from the successful raids of the open drug markets, the House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to strengthen NAFDAC, the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) with adequate funding, modern equipment and advanced technology to tackle the scourge. The lawmakers called on the government to establish a special task force, made up of security agencies, regulatory bodies and the judiciary to speedy up investigations and prosecution of individuals and businesses involved in the illicit drug business.

They urged the Attorney-General to come up with proposals to amend the existing laws to make them stronger with stiffer penalties, including life imprisonment for producers and importers of fake drugs and significant fines for others found guilty of dealing in fake drugs.

Besides, NAFDAC should beam its searchlight on the other open drug markets located in Ibadan, Kano and other cities in Nigeria where expired, banned and counterfeit drugs are sold. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that an estimated 1 in 10 medical products circulating in low-and middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified. The global health agency also says that this means that people are taking medicines that fail to treat or prevent disease. Not only is this a waste of money for individuals and health systems that purchase these products, but substandard or falsified medical products can cause serious illness or death.  

The Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Gbereyesus has decried the menace saying “imagine a mother who gives up food or other basic needs to pay for her child’s treatment, unaware that the medicines are substandard or falsified, and then that treatment causes her child to die. This is unacceptable. Countries have agreed on measures at the global level – it is time to translate them into tangible action.”

Available statistics show that since 2013, WHO has received 1500 reports of cases of substandard or falsified products. Of these, antimalarials and antibiotics are the most commonly reported. Most of the reports (42%) come from the WHO African Region, 21% from the WHO Region of the Americas, and 21% from the WHO Region European Region.

In a recent study, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reveals that up to 500,000 people die annually from counterfeit drugs in sub-Saharan Africa. It also says that as many as 267,000 deaths occur each year from substandard malaria drugs and up to 169,000 deaths each year from fake antibiotics used to treat pneumonia in children. The study shows that between $12 million and $44.7 million is spent each year treating people who have used counterfeit or substandard malaria drugs.

In 2022, the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA) said about 70 per cent of drugs distributed in Nigeria are substandard or counterfeit. It has been revealed that most of the fake drugs circulating in Nigeria and other West African countries are imported from India, China, Pakistan and Indonesia.

Although NAFDAC is doing its best to rid Nigeria of fake and substandard drugs, the drug war requires concerted efforts  of NAFDAC and other agencies such as SON, NCS, Immigration and others that work at the land borders, sea and air ports. As the lawmakers suggested, we need more stringent laws to fight the fake drug scourge. The extant laws are too weak to deter the merchants of death who would do everything to remain in the illicit but highly lucrative drug business.

Recently, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, has recommended death penalty for those involved in the trade as a way of curbing it.  No doubt, life imprisonment can also serve as a deterrent. We call for urgent dismantling of existing open drug markets in the country as way of sanitizing the chaotic and uncontrollable drug distribution system.