Posted by By MOLLY KILETE, Abuja on
The Director General of the National Agency for Food & Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof Dora Akunyili on Thursday pointed fingers at some foreign countries, especially those in the Asian continent, who she said operate a discriminatory drug and food policies to the detriment of other countries, including Nigeria.
The Director General of the National Agency for Food & Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof Dora Akunyili on Thursday pointed fingers at some foreign countries, especially those in the Asian continent, who she said operate a discriminatory drug and food policies to the detriment of other countries, including Nigeria.
According to her, while the drug and food industry in Nigeria is over-regulated, other countries only concentrate on regulating internally consumed drugs and foods and are careless about what is being exported to other countries.
The NAFDAC boss, who made the revelation when she received the Nigeria Arise Award of Excellence from the Founder of Ben TV, London and the Nigeria Arise Project, Mr Alistair Soyode, in her office in Abuja, ponited out that the practice by foreign countries was responsible for fake drug barons converting Nigeria into a dumping ground for all kinds of drugs and food products by fraudulent drug importers and drug exporters from such countries.
Akunyuli said: 'There is terrible and discriminatory drug regulatory policy by some foreign countries. This has led to severe problems for countries like Nigeria.
'Some countries, especially the Asian countries, regulate drugs and food products meant for their internal consumption, but do very little or no regulation for drugs, food products, and cosmetics meant for outside consumption.'
She pointed out that 'the foreigners who sell all the substandard drugs for us are not interested in what happens to our people, adding 'so we always tell our people who go to import substandard drugs that you are killing your people.'