Chioma Umeha
The issue of adverse drug reactions and
substandard and falsified medicines is global one. To effectively monitor
worrisome reactions of drugs in the country, Isreal has pledged to support
Nigeria to end manufacturing and distribution of sub-standard drugs through
improved pharmacovigilance.
Pharmacovigilance (PV) is defined as the science
and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and
prevention of adverse effects or any other drug-related problem.
The new partnership is targeted to end the scourge
and improve the quality of healthcare in the country through enhanced
pharmacovigilance.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) established
its Programme for International Drug Monitoring in response to the thalidomide
disaster detected in 1961 and promotes PV at the country level.
At the end of 2010, 134 countries were part of the
WHO PV Programme.
The aims of PV are to enhance patient care and
patient safety in relation to the use of medicines; and to support public
health programmes by providing reliable, balanced information for the effective
assessment of the risk-benefit profile of medicines.
Consequently, Israel in partnership with NAFDAC
organised a seminar to promote activities relating to the collection,
detection, assessment, monitoring, and prevention of adverse effects with
pharmaceutical products in the country.
Speaking at a three-day capacity building for
NAFDAC staff, themed ‘ Serialisation and Pharmacovigilance Seminar’, recently
held in Lagos, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director General, NAFDAC, said the
workshop was organised to further strengthen the existing relationship between
Nigeria and Isreal.
She also said the workshop was also designed at
training NAFDAC staff on how to reduce the incidence of sub-standard drugs.
According to her, it further aims at building
internal capacity, with emphasis on track and trace, adding it is important to
know that the medicine that left the site is the same medicine that the patient
is getting.
“We will have track and trace desk in NAFDAC to
make sure people get quality. We also have to ensure that adverse effects of
drugs that happen anywhere in the country is reported so we can have a record,”
she said.
Adeyeye explained: “During the World Health
Assembly in Geneva, I emphasised the importance of quality medicines for
Africans, the need to strength the regulatory system and involve local
manufacturing to provide jobs and for drug security.”
The Director General of NAFDAC therefore urged
participants to take advantage of the capacity building exercise to apply
knowledge gained to minimising the incidence of substandard products, stressing
on the need for sustained relationship for the benefit of the both countries.
Prof. Adeyeye said; “I have no doubt that this
collaboration will help in addressing concerns of substandard and falsified
medicines, and strengthen pharmacovigilance activities in the country.
She said; “I am also optimistic that our countries
will benefit immensely from this collaboration and therefore calls for
concerted efforts to sustain this for its mutual benefit.”
Adeyeye further noted that all drugs manufactured,
imported and distributed in Nigeria must be registered with NAFDAC for quality
management.
“It is also important to emphasise that for
medicines to be manufactured, imported, distributed and sold in Nigeria; they
must be registered with NAFDAC.
“In this regard, all pharmaceutical companies that
are desirous of marketing their products in Nigeria are hereby encouraged to
take urgent steps to register them.
“This will not only ensure compliance with NAFDAC
regulations, but also facilitate their importation, distribution and sales in
Nigeria,” she said.
Ambassador Shimon Ben- Shoshan, who represented
the Ministry of Health of the State of Isreal, observed that the collaboration
was mainly knowledge sharing, adding that this was done for the good of
mankind.
He stressed on the need for having the right
information, by citing the example of Israeli doctors who encountered a child
of about 10 years who had an eye defect, which made him almost blind during
their visit to Nigeria.
According to him, the child was observed and
treated with antibiotic eye drop which corrected the defect without any
surgery.
He explained that the partnership would enable
facilitation of information exchange between the nations and upscale
collaborative activities in the health sector.
Dr. Olajide Idris, Commissioner for Health, Lagos,
stressed on the need for Universal Health Care (UHC), which includes, access to
quality health services, essential medicine, safety and quality of care.
He noted that the major challenges in the health
sector in Nigeria are diseases, anti- microbial resistance, communicable
diseases and mental health, adding that the partnership between the two
countries would help curb the challenges.
Dr. Idris stressed; “It is essential that we also
look at it from the perspective of public health because it’s everybody’s
business and the pharmaceutical companies also have a role to play in public.
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