*The Director-General of Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control explains how the health regulator’s $57,000 digital devices will be used to check the standard, and if it is tablet or capsule, it will show whether it is fake or otherwise

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has disclosed the health regulatory agency had acquired new mechanical devices to further check substandard drugs in Nigeria.

ConsumerConnect reports Prof. Adeyeye said this Thursday, March 31, 2022, during a media briefing  at the unveiling of 73 new vehicles procured to aid the operation of NAFDAC.

The Director-General stated that NAFDAC staff members were already working on uploading tools on laptops that would be used as devices to check unwholesome and substandard medicine.

Adeyeye also said: “This devices cost 57, 000 dollars each and we have 40 of them; it will be used to check the standard even if it is tablet or capsule, it will show whether it is fake or not.

“It will go further to show the quantity of the medicine, as we plan towards attaining maturity level-four; this is part of what the World Health Organisation  (WHO) wants to see that we have put in place.

“We will also be doing track attrite, another device to track unwholesome medicine and other products, this is highly technical.”

According to her, the agency is doing everything within its power to check for unwholesome medicines.

On fake drugs, Adeyeye debunked the rumour that 70 percent of medicines in Nigeria were fake.

“This is complete lie from the pit of hell,’’ Adeyeye said.

She said that if at all there were fake medicines in circulation, it should not be more than 13 to 15 percent.

The NAFDAC Director-General said it would take over one year to attain Certification of Maturity grade level-four, as it required the agency to also put many other things in place.

The regulatory agency has put so many things in shape before the Certification of Maturity grade level-three was recently granted to the agency.

The agency was is to complete its new vaccine building as part of the criteria to achieve maturity grade level-four certification.