NAFDAC, PCN bemoan chaotic drug distribution markets in Nigeria

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) have reaffirmed their determination to eliminate open drug markets in Nigeria.

Speaking at a joint media briefing in Lagos, on Tuesday, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye and the Registrar of the PCN, Ibrahim Babashehu-Ahmed said that the relocation of the open drugs market in Kano to a Coordinated Wholesale Centre (CWC) has set a standard that should be followed by others.

“The chaotic drug distribution system in Nigeria and open drug markets have been a sore point to drug regulatory agencies, especially to NAFDAC,” Adeyeye said.

She pointed out that the disorderly chain of movement of medicine from the manufacturer to the final consumer is inimical to the efficacy of pharmaceutical products and is the primary cause of substandard and falsified medicines being in circulation.

“The consequence of this is treatment failure or even death. Therefore, to make Nigerians healthier and reduce mortality, NAFDAC and our sister agency, PCN, must continue to fight against it,” she added.

Adeyeye noted that the fight to sanitize the drug distribution system started over a decade ago when the Presidential Committee on Pharmaceutical Sector Reform (PCPSR), constituted in 2003, developed strategies toward the sanitization of drug distribution.

“The PCPSR recommended the development of National Drug Distribution Guidelines (NDDG) as a key strategy to coordinate the drug distribution sub-sector and all operators in the open drug markets in Kano, Lagos, Onitsha, and Aba,” she said.

The open drug markets in these states were initially given a December 2018 deadline by the then Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, to relocate to the Coordinated Wholesale Centres (CWC).

Adeyeye explained that the CWCs, designed as controlled environments for proper monitoring of drug distribution, are an outcome of the Presidential Committee on Pharmaceutical Sector Reform (PCPSR).

She further noted that the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, who played a key role in conceptualizing the CWC model, remains a strong advocate for its implementation.

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“The National Drug Distribution Guidelines (NDDG) provide a clear mandate to NAFDAC and PCN to ensure full compliance and implementation by all relevant stakeholders,” Adeyeye stated.

She added that NAFDAC and its sister agency would continue to intensify efforts to ensure the establishment of CWC in other states.

Also, speaking the Registrar of the PCN, Ibrahim Babashehu-Ahmed, highlighted that the CWC in Kano was the first of its kind, established to enhance the regulation of drug distribution and sales in Nigeria.

Babashehu-Ahmed explained that the PCN is charged with the responsibility of regulating pharmacy practice sites, the practitioners, and the patent and proprietary medicine vendors that use the open drug markets to sell medicines.

He noted that all efforts to relocate the open drugs market in Kano were resisted, noting that the dealers filed a lawsuit in a bid to stop their relocation.

Babashehu-Ahmed revealed that a landmark judgment by Justice Simon Amobeda of the Kano Federal High Court on February 16, 2024, mandated the relocation of open drug marketers in Kano to the Coordinated Wholesale Centre (CWC).

He described the ruling as a significant step toward improving drug distribution control and curbing the prevalence of substandard medicines.

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