The registrar explained that drugs hawkers or sellers have been given a two-year period to move into such structures to carry out their services, stressing that the measure was aimed at ensuring proper regulation of their activities. Blaming the major challenges in health system on open drug dealers, Mohammed said a lot of them, due to lack of legislations against their operations, infused fake and adulterated drugs into the system. He said that this had further compounded the disease burden of patients and further increased the mortality rate in the country.

The registrar described open drug markets as the den of most fake drugs in the country due to lack of legislation. NAN reports that open drugs marketers are unlicenced medicines sellers in and around the streets, major markets like Idumota in Lagos, Onitsha, over head bridges, Sabongari in Kano and Nyanya-FCT, among others. “The check list for National Drug Distribution Centres and Coordinated Wholesale Centres had been well established and quality control mechanisms have been put in place.

“So those in the open drug markets will definitely be relocated to those designated centres and a two-year period has been put in place for constructions of such facilities that will house PCN, NAFDAC, Police and other related organisations. “We have discussed this with all stakeholders including the marketers and we have all agreed on the time frame. All hands must be on deck to ensure that it will no longer be business as usual for the operators. “We are assuring the country and the populace that in two years time, the idea of open drug markets will be a thing of the past and when they are relocated to the centres they will be highly regulated and any product coming in will be certified,’’ said the registrar.

Source:Leadership Online