By Musa Muhammad Dona
The National Agency for Food and drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Tuesday said it will begin prosecution of drug hawkers in the country.
The Director General of the Agency, Mojisola Adeyeye said during a media sensitisation workshop on Dangers of Drug hawking and Ripening of fruits with calcium carbide for North West health journalist in kaduna.
She said drug hawking poses serious health challenges on people and the agency frowned on the illegal hawking of drugs in the open market because of its contributions to the rate of non-communicable diseases in the country.
“Drug hawking menace posed serious challenge to Healthcare Delivery System in the country and it underscored NAFDAC’s resolute determination to totally eradicate the illicit trade.
“Drug Hawkers are knowingly or unknowingly merchants of death who expose essential and life saving medicines to the vagaries of inclement weather which degrade the active ingredients of the medicine and turn them to poisons thus endangering human lives.”
“Most of the drugs sold by the illiterate and semi-literate Drug Hawkers are counterfeit, substandard or expired, and therefore do not meet the quality, safety and efficacy requirement of regulated medicines.”
“Prescription drugs are also sold by the itinerant Drug Hawkers who also hold consultation, recommend and prescribe medicines to their gullible “patients”.
“Drug Hawkers are also the major Distributors and Suppliers of narcotic medicines to criminal networks such as Armed Bandits, Insurgents, Kidnappers and Armed Robbers. Drug Hawkers constitute serious threat to our national security.”
“Drugs are sensitive life-saving commodities which should not be sold on the streets/motor parks or open markets just like any other article of trade,” The DG said.
Represented by the Director of Chemical Evaluation, Leonard Omopariola, he said that the agency has been taking some decisive steps since 2019 such as sensitization of the public through different media outlets, enforcement through intelligence and raids in fruit markets that have resulted in seizures and destruction of violative products.
He said the sensitization workshop is a fulfillment of a promise to sustain and strengthen NAFDAC’s existing collaboration with Association of Health Journalists in Nigeria towards mobilizing, educating, sensitizing, and conscientizing Nigerian Journalists to play frontline role in our concerted efforts to eradicate the menace of Drug Hawking and Ripening of Fruits with Calcium Carbide in Nigeria.”
“It is my candid opinion that sensitization workshop of this nature is a training the Trainers’ programme with the great expectation that participants will assume the role of champions in the vanguard of the campaign against drug hawking and the use of calcium carbide to ripen fruits.”
“I wish to assure you that NAFDAC will constantly engage the mass media as we strive to bring down to the grassroot level positive impacts of our regulatory activities.”
“The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has noticed the dangerous practice of sale and consumption of fruits artificially ripened with calcium carbide as well as illegal hawking of drugs in the open market,”he said.
