THE Federal Ministry of Health has recalled 2, 405,724 million bottles of Codeine-containing cough syrup.
The recall was effected after a recent audit trail of the substance carried out by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The move, according to the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, is to further demonstrate the Federal Government’s resolve to stem the abuse of Codeine-containing cough syrup and other substances in the country.
Prof. Adewole made this known in Abuja while receiving the final report of the Stakeholders Committee set up by his ministry to address the worrisome menace.
According to Prof. Adewole, the audit trail and subsequent recall of the substance was part of the recommendations submitted by the 22-man committee drafted from a broad spectrum of the health sector to collaborate with relevant agencies as part of pharmacovigilance and renewed effort to actively monitor drug distribution channels and sanitise the system.
The minister recalled that the committee was an offshoot of the press release issued by the ministry on the temporary ban of Codeine production and distribution and further directive for NAFDAC to convene a committee of stakeholders to chart the way forward.
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The committee has the following dignitaries as members: Director General, NAFDAC, Professor Christianah M. Adeyeye(Chairman); Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Muhammad Mustapha Abdullah; Registrar, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria(PCN), Elijah Mohamed; Director, Food and Drugs Services(FMOH), Mr. Moshood Lawal; President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria(PSN), Ahmed I. Yakasai; Executive Secretary, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), Dr Okey Akpa amongst others.
The report involved 87 % of the manufacturers (20 out of the 23) of the companies. All the recalled products are warehoused in the respective companies, the minister said.
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