NPHCDA had disclosed on its website that over 70 per cent of medical drugs being dispensed in Nigeria are substandard and that majority of Nigerians do not have access to health services.

Iyiola said he cannot fault the NPHCDA’s report because the storage system of medical drugs has not been of the required global standard.

He said, “My take on it is that lack of proper storage system in Nigeria is the major reason for the report, because you will find out that close to 70 per cent of the drugs in the market are not being handled by experts. So, the storage system has been compromising the standard of drugs.

“If the drugs come out good and the storage condition is not favourable for the ideal standard they are supposed to be stored, definitely there will be degradation.

“Recently, power supply has been very bad in Nigeria and the alternative source of power, which is generator, is faced with the skyrocketing price of diesel. So, people would want to cut cost. This is apart from the fact that there are fake and counterfeit drugs.”

To fight against substandard drugs, the chairman urged the government to close all the existing open drug markets in the country.

“The way forward is for the government to close all the existing open drug markets. If you go to Idumota on Lagos Island, where drugs are sold, you will not see it as an ideal place where pharmaceutical products should be stocked and sold.

“There is no country in the world that doesn’t have fake and counterfeit drugs, but our major headache in Nigeria is the storage system; it is below the standard.

“The solution to this problem is to work on the storage system. If that is done, riding the country of counterfeiters will be the only problem that we will be confronted with. Even in the US, with their advancements and development, counterfeiters are still there,” Iyiola said.

Source: HealthWise