Some North-West residents have identified get-rich-quick desire, porous borders and people’s attitudes as factors frustrating the fight against fake and substandard drugs.

In a survey, the respondents from Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi states were of the consensus that punitive measures to ensure deterrence were inadequate, hence the continued flourishing of the illicit money-spinning business.

They also lauded the efforts of regulatory bodies like the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), but lamented that the public’s support was inadequate.

Adamu Garba, Sokoto State coordinator of NAFDAC, said his agency was collaborating with other institutions and vendors to detect counterfeit and expired drugs.

He commended stakeholders and security agents in the state for their support and assured that the agency would continue to work towards protecting the health of Nigerians.

Abdullahi Dikko, director, research and statistics of the Sokoto State Ministry of Health, said the state government had been partnering with NAFDAC to monitor the activities of patent medicine vendors and pharmaceutical stores.

Leader of medicine vendors in Sokoto, Ogbu Batholomew, underscored the importance of collective efforts among stakeholders in the struggle to safeguard the health of Nigerians.

The state coordinator of NAFDAC in Zamfara, Hamisu Yahaya, urged the state’s people to provide useful information to assist the agency in discharging its duties.

He appealed to sales outlets, particularly supermarkets, patent medicine stores and pharmaceutical chemists, to always check the products they displayed to avoid selling expired drugs and food products to consumers.

Muyiddin Suleiman, coordinator of NAFDAC in Kebbi State, said counterfeit and substandard chemicals and drugs were not common in the state as there was no huge market for medicine.

“As a regulatory agency, we receive alerts from manufacturers, and when we receive such, we work on it; Kebbi is not a huge market for drugs; most of the time, we do not come across this problem,” he said.

He explained that even if some dubious characters smuggled unwholesome products into the state, they would be discouraged because they would not have a market for it.

In Kano State, the State Consumer Protection Council (KSCPC) said it had regularly inspected business premises, including pharmaceutical companies, to rid the state of fake, expired and counterfeit drugs.

The council’s public relations officer,  Musbahu Yakasai, said operations were being conducted based on reports received from people and sometimes payment of unexpected visits to such places.

A civil servant in Kano, Garba Bala, stressed the need for more public sensitisation on how to identify fake and substandard drugs and ways to report such cases to the appropriate authorities.

“People are being killed because of the fake and substandard drugs being imported, and the merchants make quick and easy money to the detriment of the consumers’ state of health.

“But the citizens are sometimes not helping matters as they always want cheap products, not minding the dangers associated with such drugs or chemicals being cheaper than others.”

Making a similar call, a medical expert in Katsina, Ibrahim Abdullahi, urged the relevant authorities to do more to enlighten the public on how to identify genuine products to safeguard their health.

The expert also stressed the need for all stakeholders to join hands and intensify efforts in checking the threat of fake and substandard drugs.

In Kaduna, stakeholders in the health sector said routine inspection by regulatory bodies would help curb the importation of fake and substandard drugs into the country.

Charlotte Martins, a microbiologist, said regulatory bodies like NAFDAC and Consumer Protection Council should constantly engage in thorough routine checks at the country’s borders

But Nasiru Mato, coordinator of NAFDAC in Kaduna, lamented that the challenge was the numerous footpaths at our borders through which these unwholesome drugs and chemicals were being smuggled.

He said the law had prescribed that all drugs were to be imported through ports or airports and not land borders.

”The prevalence rate, to some extent, is on the decline because consumers have an advantage of verifying the authenticity of products at the point of purchase,” Mr Mato said.

(NAN)