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NAFDAC reacts to anti-malaria drug probe by Senate

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Last week, as reported by Naija News, the Nigerian Senate issued a warning on the consumption of some banned anti malaria drugs within the country and also mandated its its Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary), led by Senator Olanrewaju Tejuoso, to urgently carry out a detailed investigation into the matter and report back for further action.

However, obviously reacting to this issue, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has said that there are no “killer” antimalarial medicines in circulation in the country.

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NAFDAC‘s Acting Director-General, Dr. Yetunde Oni, at a press briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, has advised Nigerians not to entertain any fear over the news of banned anti-malarial drugs been sold in the country.

The Senate had launched a probe into the sale of 42 banned anti-malaria drugs in the country last week, a development that has caused panic among Nigerians.

READ ALSO: NAFDAC fined N2 million naira for approving Sprite and Fanta drinks

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Oni, who said the public should disregard what she called the misinformation, stated that the approved malaria treatment in the country were the artemisinin combination therapy.

“We want to correct the news that 42 banned anti-malarial medicines are still circulating in the country. The allegedly banned antimalarial medicines are oral immunotherapies containing single active pharmaceutical ingredients that have been banned since 2005,” she stated.

She, however, noted that the anti-malarial medications that Nigerians needed to avoid were those that had no authentication system.

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Oni said, “We recommend that you do not buy any anti-malarial drug that does not have the scratch and text technique. Every antimalarial should have an authentication system so that consumers can confirm if they have bought a genuine drug or not.”

She added that the agency had deployed a mobile application on medicine packages that would allow users to check the status of their products on their phones before they consume such.