By Chioma Umeha
Lagos – With the
resumption of Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, the new Director General, National
Agency for Food, Drug and Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the agency said
that it has repositioned itself towards eliminating substandard, falsified and
unsafe drugs in line with global standards.
Giving
the assurance weekend, was Professor Adeyeye, who insisted that she would earn
NAFDAC a global recognition.
The
new DG spoke during her inaugural address to staff when she visited the
headquarters of the regulatory body in Lagos.
She
said, “I come with an open mind and commitment to lead the agency and carry
along all of you, my esteemed NAFDAC staff, in this journey to make NAFDAC a
respected and internationally recognised regulatory agency.”
The
DG, who assumed duties last week told the staff that her vision was to lead the
agency toward eliminating substandard, falsified and unsafe drugs, medical
devices, foods and water in the country.
She
reminded staff that NAFDAC was established by Decree 15 of 1993 (as Amended)
now Act Cap N1 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria in 2004 to regulate and
control the importation, exportation, manufacture, distribution, advertisement,
sale and use of food, drug, cosmetics, chemicals, detergents, medical devices
and packaged water in Nigeria.
“Clearly,
the agency plays a critical role in ensuring that the health of all Nigerians
and foreigners residing in Nigeria are not jeopardised by the use of
substandard or counterfeit regulated products,” she said.
Adeyeye
noted that for the past 24 years, NAFDAC has made steady progress in ensuring
that the health of the nation is protected, adding that the collective
responsibility of staff is to take the agency to the next level.
Adeyeye
said that the vision is to also emphasise the training of NAFDAC staff in
regulatory science and clinical trial management in compliance with
international standards.
This,
she said, would contribute toward the elimination of substandard and unsafe
medical products and create market opportunities for Nigeria in the supply of
essential medicines to ECOWAS countries and beyond.
She
also said that they would work with manufacturers’ group and other stakeholders
on the drug distribution chain; continue with all the good projects of the
agency as long as they meet irreducible minimums in due process and conform to
the law that established the agency, among others.
The
DG also said that they would drive the harmonisation of NAFDAC’s overlapping
functions with those of other sister regulatory bodies such as SON, PCN, NDLEA,
Plant and Quarantine services, among many others.
