The convener of NECCI PR Roundtable 2023, Nkechi Ali-Balogun asserted that communication was a strategic tool in the battle against illicit trade in the country.
She said this in her welcome address at the 23rd edition of NECCI PR Roundtable 2023, held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos recently.
The veteran PR practitioner observed that the pharmaceutical industry had witnessed remarkable advancements, boasting the potential to transform lives.
She said regrettably, “The dark shadow of illicit trade threatens the very core of the industry’s noble mission, jeopardising public health and eroding the trust fundamental to the patient industry relationship. Communication, as a powerful tool, plays a major role in the battle against illicit trade.
“Communication plays a vital role in sharing best practices, raising awareness and fostering collaboration among stakeholders, strengthening regulatory frameworks, and providing transparency within the supply chain to track products from manufacturer to patients.”
On how she has weathered the storm in the last twenty-three years, Ali-Balogun said it was all about passion and patriotism.
She declared, “Irrespective of what is happening, I love Nigeria. I know we have so much to celebrate and talk about in this country.”
In the area of challenges, she identified funding, adding, “We don’t mind partnership with the government.”
Speaking on the theme of the event, “Fighting the Scourge of Illicit Trade in the Pharma Industry: The Role of Communication, she decried the rate at which people die due to fake drugs.
She said, “I have seen people die taking fake drugs, I have seen people turning nurses overnight and patients being taken to their homes. It is on the increase. The question is, how long are we going to continue? How long will the village man or market woman buy drugs without knowing whether it is fake or not? How do they identify fake drugs or the implication of taking fake drugs?”
In her keynote address, the Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Professor Moji Adeyeye, noted that the proliferation of sub-standard and falsified medicines posed a danger to public health and economic growth.
She said, “Illicit sales and distribution of sub-standard and falsified medicines were threatening the attainment of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and leading to global assault on public health globally. This menace portends grave financial losses, possible divestment, and close of shop for the pharmaceutical industry.”
Adeyeye, however, said no single agency could undertake the battle alone, adding that the approach must be multi-faceted.
“Concerted efforts are needed, gaps as uncoordinated drug distribution and supply chain system; drug hawking and proliferation of street/ open drug markets; increasing use of postal/ courier services for dispatch of small parcels of sub-standard and falsified medicines; availability of advanced technologies; reduced risks of prosecution; non-deterrent laws and weak penalties; proliferation of rogue online pharmacists/ unregulated sales of medicines online; ignorance, poverty and high cost of living; scarcity of medicines and abuse of free trade zones and lawful trade facilitation mechanisms were palpable.”
On what NAFDAC was doing to bridge the gaps, Adeyeye listed the attainment of ISO9001:2015 certification and WHO Maturity Level 3.
“This implies that NAFDAC has reached the level of regulatory system operating as a stable, well-functioning, and integrated system for the regulation of medicines and imported vaccines in an efficient, effective, and transparent manner, to achieve Universal Health Coverage by access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicine and vaccines for all Nigerians.”
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