NAFDAC committed to availability of narcotics for medical, scientific purposes — NAFDAC DG

Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, has reiterated the agency’s commitment to ensuring the availability of narcotics and controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes, while preventing diversion to illicit use in Nigeria.

The resident media consultant, Sayo Akintola, in a press statement, said this is against the backdrop of the outcry by the Provost of the Medical School, University of Lagos, Professor Adewale Anthonio Oke, that some surgeons and other medical professionals involved in the surgical operation of patients tend to be addicted to narcotic drugs used as painkillers for patients after surgery.

Speaking at the launch of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) annual report availability supplement and precursor report 2023 by the agency in Lagos, Professor Adeyeye said due to the addictive potential of many of the narcotic drugs, there is a need to balance the access and control of these substances.

While INCB reports the world drug situation yearly to inform governments of countries that are parties to the International Conventions on Drug Control Efforts, she declared that the annual report for the year 2023 has a special focus on the role of the internet, including social media, in drug trafficking and use, with a specific look at the evolving landscape of online drug trafficking.

The NAFDAC boss, who was represented by the Director, Laboratory Services (Food), Dr Charles Nwachukwu, stressed, however, that competent national authorities must scale up their activities and monitor online advertisements and sales of controlled substances to stay ahead of traffickers.

The report further analyses the global availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for medical and scientific purposes, highlighting the persistent disparities in access to medicines for the treatment of pain.

She said the precursors report X-rays issues related to trafficking in synthetic drugs, including non-medical synthetic opioids, cocaine and their precursors, which represent a growing threat to public health.

The DG reiterated some of the measures already put in place by NAFDAC to ensure availability and prevent the diversion of controlled medicines to illegal use, like the issuance of an electronic permit to import controlled substances, the pre-export notification (PEN) online system, the National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP) and the National Pharmaceutical Traceability Strategy.

Sade Oguntola