NAFDAC RAISES ALARM OVER INFLUX OF COUNTERFEIT DRUGS IN EBONYI

BY PETER OKUTU
ABAKALIKI-HEAD, National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, in Ebonyi State, Mr. Richard Anichukwu, Wednesday, raised alarm over the influx of fake and substandard drugs into major markets in the state capital, Abakaliki.

He alleged that the affected items, including beverages, drugs, bottled water, among others, had found their way into the state via Onitsha, the commercial nerve centre of Anambra State.

Anichukwu, who briefed journalists on some of the development in the state, explained that the agency was able to detect the level of inflow of fake products into the state through the use of Truscan device in the screening of most patent medicine stores and pharmaceutical shops in the state.

He expressed confidence that the emergence of the Truscan device would help alleviate the phenomenon of counterfeit drugs across the state.

'Our state is one of the states that have so far seen the Truscan machine introduced by the management. It is used to detect counterfeit drugs on the spot without reference to any laboratory.

He said: 'It's a handy device and it is easy to operate. From the test we have done, we found out that the products that failed, going by the receipt of their purchase, were bought from Onitsha in Anambra State.'