The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has appointed Cotecna Inspection Services to strengthen its fight against imported substandard regulated products from China and India. This initiative aims to ensure only safe and high-quality products are exported into Nigeria, in addition to the existing Pre-Shipment agents in India.
A statement by NAFDAC’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, noted that this decision follows the widely acclaimed success in the recent unprecedented seizure, evacuation, and destruction of over N1 trillion worth of substandard, banned, and expired medicines in Idumota, Onitsha, and Aba Open Drug markets.
Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this at a hybrid Technical Meeting on Mitigating Substandard and Counterfeit Products through the Clean Report of Inspection and Analysis (CRIA) Scheme, held in Lagos. The meeting, attended by representatives from various sectoral groups, clearing and forwarding agents, NAFDAC staff, and CRIA Agents, emphasized global challenges posed by the manufacture and trade of substandard and falsified medicines (SFs), particularly in low- and middle-income countries. These challenges include economic sabotage, treatment failures, drug resistance, and loss of lives.
Prof. Adeyeye highlighted Nigeria’s progress in addressing SFs despite challenges such as inadequate vigilance, corruption, and lack of regulatory and political will. She stressed the importance of NAFDAC’s regulatory measures and the introduction of the Clean Report of Inspection and Analysis (CRIA) scheme in preventing the importation of substandard and falsified medicines and other regulated products into Nigeria.
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Under her leadership, Prof. Adeyeye reviewed and strengthened the CRIA scheme, including the renewal of contracts with existing agents, the addition of new agents in India, and the appointment of Cotecna Inspection Services. She underscored the role of CRIA agents in conducting physical inspections, product-specific testing, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
The CRIA scheme, operational in China and India, has significantly enhanced NAFDAC’s control over products exported to Nigeria, preventing the shipment of substandard, counterfeit, and non-compliant products. Over the past five years, CRIA agents have intercepted nearly 200 consignments of products failing laboratory testing and ensured adherence to NAFDAC’s standards.
Prof. Adeyeye also emphasized the importance of collaboration with the Indian government to prevent rejected medicines from re-entering Nigeria through illicit means. She urged exporters to engage CRIA agents before shipping consignments from China or India to Nigeria, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
In conclusion, she reiterated NAFDAC’s commitment to combating the importation of substandard and counterfeit products, enhancing consumer safety, and facilitating international trade. The Director of Ports Inspection Directorate PID, Dr. Olakunle Olaniran, commended the CRIA scheme for its role in intercepting non-compliant products and ensuring regulatory compliance at Nigerian ports.
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