Director-General of the National Agency for Food Drugs and Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Dr Paul Orhii, has disclosed that the agency has reduced fake drugs in circulation from 19.6 per cent to 3.6 per cent.

Orhii made this disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja at the presentation of the survey on quality of anti-malarial medicines in Nigeria.

He told journalists that the agency had recorded another major feat as a recent nationwide survey on anti-malarial medicines revealed that there was a drastic reduction of counterfeit anti-malarial drugs in the country from 19.6percent in 2012 to 3.6percent in 2015.

 “The introduction and deployment of new anti-counterfeiting cutting-edge technologies such as TRUSCAN, Mobile Authentication Services, MAS, Mini-Laboratory and deep infrared technology by NAFDAC under his watch, were majorly responsible for the groundbreaking success so far recorded in ensuring safe and good quality medicines in the country.”

The survey on quality of anti-malaria medicines, which was conducted in six geopolitical zones in the country, was jointly undertaken by the National Malaria Elimination Programme of the Federal Ministry of Health and NAFDAC with the funding support by United States Pharmacopeia and USAID, he said.

According to the DG, who reiterated his determination to eradicate the menace of counterfeit drugs in the country, the agency has again done Nigeria and Africa proud with this remarkable achievement, coming closely on the heels of the recent seizure of N5billion counterfeit drugs evacuated from five warehouses in Lagos.

 He however, appreciated the USP, USAID, Federal Ministry of Health and other partner agencies for their support towards the anti-counterfeiting war in the country.

 Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Linus Awute, who chaired the survey report dissemination meeting in Abuja, reiterated Federal Government’s determination to wipe out disease burden like malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS from the country.

Awute, who was represented by the Ministry’s Director of Public Health, Dr Bridget Okwuagwale, commended the United States government for providing the funds for the survey, while noting that the cheering news of the reduction in counterfeit drugs came at a time Nigeria has recorded progress in other public health issues.

The vice-president of USP, Dr Patrick Lukulay, observed that the success recorded by NAFDAC with the attainment of International Accreditation of her laboratory in Yaba, Lagos, seven months ago, laid a foundation for the current celebration in the results of the quality medicine survey.

 Lukulay said the various successes recorded by USP in her partnership with NAFDAC and other regulatory agencies in Nigeria within 4years surpassed other USP interventions for the past 10years in other African Countries.

It will be recalled that a survey of the quality of anti-malaria in Sub-Sahara Africa undertaken by WHO in 2008, showed 64 per cent incidence of fake anti-malaria in Nigeria and other 13 African countries.

The assumption of office by Dr Orhii as Director-General of NAFDAC, led to reduction of the incidence of counterfeit drugs from 64 per cent in 2008 to 19.6 per in 2012 and later 3.6 per cent in 2015.

The Director of Special Duties of NAFDAC, Dr Abubakar Jimoh, said that Dr. Orhii was appointed in 2012 by WHO in recognition of these outstanding achievements appointed as the first chair of her International Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force known as the States mechanism on Spurious, Substandard, Falsified and Falsely-Labelled Counterfeit, SSFFC, medical products consisting of 193 member-nations.