NAFDAC REPORT: LARGE PERCENTAGE OF DRUGS UNREGISTERED IN NIGERIA

A recent report issued by the Nigerian National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shown that approximately 60 percent of all medicines available in the country are not registered by the agency.

NAFDAC Director General Dora Nkem Akunyili reported that this statistic was discovered after a two-year study was carried out to ascertain the country's level of compliance to drug registration requirements. Akunyili, who described the situation as "disturbing and a threat to public health," said that plans are underway to prosecute marketers and manufacturers of unregistered drugs. Many of the drugs, she said, are imported from Asia -- specifically from India and China.