From Kemi Yesufu, Abuja
The House of Representatives has urged newly appointed Director General of the National Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, to prioritise combating drug abuse among youths.
The lawmakers gave Adeyeye the charge during a recent courtesy call on the House Committee on Healthcare Services at the National Assembly.
The lawmakers decried the spike in the abuse of hard drugs and over-the-counter medicines by young people across the country, stating the need for NAFDAC to introduce measures through which the ugly trend could be nipped in the bud.
Chairman of the committee, Chike Okafor, called for fresh ideas and policies from the new Director-General, as her appointment is expected to usher in a new era in the agency.
He said: ”Ours is to give maximum legislative support to NAFDAC because of its importance to safeguarding the health of our people, Moreover when we now have a substantive DG.
“We expect you to bring to bear your wealth of experience on NAFDAC, being an essential agency because I don’t know where the country would have been now if it wasn’t set up then.
“Fortunately, NAFDAC has been able to carve a niche for itself over the years and we expect another woman to drive the agency and deliver on your mandate.”
In response, Adeyeye gave assurance that she will collaborate with sister agencies to reduce the incidence of drug abuse among young people.
She equally declared that the agency will operate on a policy of zero-tolerance to distribution and sale of counterfeit drugs.
“Thousand of Nigerians have died due to the consumption of fake drugs. This is why it is in my heart to reduce the sale of counterfeit drugs to the barest minimum,” she said.
According to a 2012 survey conducted by NAFDAC, the prevalence of counterfeit medicines in circulation in the country had gone down to 6.4 per cent. This is while a 2005 survey done by the agency in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) put the prevalence rate at 16.7, for all categories of drugs.
Adeyeye, therefore, pleaded for support of the National Assembly in terms of allocating much needed resources to upgrade the agency’s laboratories, staff training and operational preparedness, in order for the agency to make significant impact.
“We want to make NAFDAC greater. We need a lot of resources to do this and this where the House Healthcare Services Committee comes in,” she stated.