Ogun NMA Boss Seeks Tight Borders Against Fake Drugs

Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Ogun State chapter, Dr. Adewunmi Alayaki has advised the Federal government to tighten security at the country’s borders to check importation of  fake drugs into the country.

Alayaki, who spoke  during this year’s Physicians Week, with the theme: “Combat Drug Resistance; No Action Today, No Cure Tomorrow,”  held in Abeokuta,lamented the havoc wreaked  on the people by fake drugs and suggested  that any country  or company engaging in the production of fake drugs should  be dealt with.

He commended the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for its efforts towards combating fake drugs in the country. He appealed to the agency to do more in the fight against importation of fake drugs.

“Those selling should place embargo on those companies and countries found to be producing substandard drugs.

Also speaking at the event, guest lecturer and Head of Drug Information Service Unit, Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Odunfa Oluwagbenga, said the growing threat from resistant organisms calls for concerted action to prevent the emergence of new resistant strains and the spread of existing ones.

According to him: “It is clear that misuse of medicines continues to be widespread and has serious health and economic implications. There is an urgent need to move towards implementing programmes that achieve large-scale and sustained improvements within the health systems.

“The problem of rational antibiotic usage is complex, and requires coordination of the activities of health care authorities, institutions, professional organisations and individual practitioners “A careful assessment of the benefits of prescribing against the risk of non-prescribing of antibiotics should be considered. It should be an endeavor for every physician to justify antibiotic prescription in case of empirical use,” he submitted.

By Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta