Members of the National Association of Industrial Pharmacists have condemned unbridled drug importation, saying it contributes to the burden of counterfeiting in the country. Speaking at the third bi-monthly meeting of the association in Lagos on Thursday, a pharmacist and retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Alex Okeke, said most of the counterfeit medicines in Nigeria are imported.He said that one of the major challenges being faced by the regulatory agencies globally is the counterfeiting of pharmaceutical products.

Okeke said there is incontrovertible proof that most of the counterfeit drugs in circulation are imported to Nigeria. He said, “Any drug that goes via land into the country is illegal; because the government has ordered drug importation to be done through the sea and airports only.” He added that a major reason for the circulation of such drugs was the poor funding of the nation’s health sector. “A massive campaign should be embarked upon to enable the government see the need to support the local pharmaceutical industry to build capacity and produce drugs locally to meet the international standards, at cheap and affordable rate, thereby reducing dependence on imported drugs,” Okeke said.