The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has destroyed fake drugs worth N600m in Kano State.
The agency said the feat was achieved in conjunction with the state government “following a month-long crackdown on various illegal and clandestine pharmaceutical outlets across the state.”
A statement issued on Friday night by NAFDAC’s Deputy Director (Public Relations & Protocol Unit), Mr. Abubakar Jimoh, said its Director-General, Dr. Paul Orhii and the Kano State Governor, Mr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, jointly supervised the burning of more than 10 trailer loads of counterfeit drugs conveyed to the Kano city dumpsite.
Among the burnt drugs were hundreds of cartons of counterfeit Chloroquine, banned Analgin injections and 14 million tablets of Tramoldine drugs often abused by commercial vehicle drivers and motorcyclists valued at over N135m.
In a speech at the event, Orhii praised Kano for its bold initiative in partnering NAFDAC to check the menace of fake drugs.
He said, “NAFDAC has introduced innovative, multi-layered and well-coordinated strategies to fight drug counterfeiting. The use of cutting-edge technologies such as TRUSCAN and Mobile Authentication Service has made NAFDAC one of the top 20 medicine regulatory agencies in the world.
“The seizure and destruction of N600m fake drugs in Kano historic because as a commercial nerve centre and hub for distribution of drugs to other states and neighbouring countries, the dislodging of counterfeiters from the state will help wipe out such spurious medicines and even unwholesome processed foods in other parts of the country”.
The statement quoted a “visibly angry Governor Kwankwaso” as saying his government had declared a battle against drug counterfeiters in the state. He vowed not to “leave any stone unturned until those merchants of deaths vacate the state.”
The governor announced December 31, 2012, as the final deadline for drug dealers in Sabon-gari market, Kano to “relocate their businesses as the market has been declared illegal for sale of medicines.”
Kwankwaso said the state government was committed to qualitative health care delivery to her citizens and would strive to protect the integrity and safety of medicine supply chains.
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