We Are Planning Towards A Calendar On Product Inspection – NAFDAC

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has come out to say that the agency is doing everything possible to have a calendar to accommodate the period between product inspection after certificate and approval.

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the NAFDAC Director-General revealed this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

According to her, the idea became imperative to improve checks on the standard of products to confirm if such product is of the required quality as stated and approved by the agency.

She added that it was also meant to check the shadiness and tactics that some manufacturers are currently adopting to bypass the set standard by NAFDAC.

Her words, “We have to do more work unfortunately here because some clients will bring their ideal formulation for foods or drugs, but after they get the approval, they change things on us.

“We are planning towards a calendar when our post marketing directorate surveillance directorate will be going out on this, we will pay a surprise visit to manufacturers or clients, but we as an agency knows when to go.

“We have overhauled our post marketing surveillance and the time to follow-up on inspection will be unexpected to the people, it will be strictly unannounced.”

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is a federal agency under the Federal Ministry of Health that is responsible for regulating and controlling the manufacture, importation, exportation, advertisement, distribution, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, chemicals and packaged water in Nigeria.

The organization was formed to checkmate illicit and counterfeit products in Nigeria in 1993 under the country’s health and safety law. Adulterated and counterfeit drugs are a problem in Nigeria. In one 1989 incident, over 150 children died as a result of paracetamol syrup containing diethylene glycol. The problem of fake drugs was so severe that neighbouring countries such as Ghana and Sierra Leone officially banned the sale of drugs, foods and beverages products made in Nigeria.

In December 1992, NAFDAC’s first governing council was formed. The council was chaired by Tanimu Saulawa. In January 1993, supporting legislation was approved as legislative Decree No. 15 of 1993. On January 1, 1994 NAFDAC was officially established as a “parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Health”.

NAFDAC replaced an earlier Federal Ministry of Health body, the Directorate of Food and Drug Administration and Control, which had been deemed ineffective, partially because of lack of laws concerning fake drugs.