Author: Ibrahim Abusadiq

By Flowerbud News

July 18, 2021

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has given reasons why it has yet to approve any herbal medicine for the treatment of COVID-19.

This is contained in a statement signed by the agency resident Media Consultant, Mr Olusayo Akintola, and issued to newsmen on Sunday, in Abuja.

The statement quoted Prof Moji Adeyeye, NAFDAC Director- General, as saying that “no single drug has been found yet to cure COVID -19”.

Adeyeye also warned Nigerians against excessive consumption of onions and garlic with a view to curing COVID-19, saying, ‘’If you eat too much your breath will be smelling and nobody will want to stay by you.”

She said that medicinal products available now could only help ease symptoms and up the odds of survival.

She warned Nigerian researchers and other herbal medicine practitioners to desist from parading unverified medicine for the virus.

She said that any product without NAFDAC approval for the cure of COVID-19 is null and void, adding that such an act was a violation of the national regulatory authorities and breach of protocols.

She admitted that onions or garlic or any of the natural fruits that we take have antioxidant and nutrients that can help us feel better, adding that people might have been using it and they get better.

“If it is not documented, it cannot be recognised by NAFDAC for COVID – 19. They work on our cells to keep people healthier, but not to cure COVID – 19. They help our body to function better. There is no cure for COVID -19 yet.

She added that they may boost the immunity and the person may not be easily susceptible to infection, adding that ‘’even with that, you still have to protect yourself.

“If you eat garlic and onion and you don’t use face mask you will get COVID -19. If you are in a bad environment; If you don’t wash your hands, you will get COVID -19.

“Everything has to be put together. University of Jos said that there was an herbal medicine, whether it is tea or whatever, that can cure COVID-19, they linked it with treatment of COVID -19, they did the packaging.

‘’We did a letter to warn them that they cannot claim something unless it has gone through our listing process. They were trying to sell it to their staff. That is violation of our own regulatory policies.

“Nobody should say that this one can cure this or that without going through NAFDAC listing process, the research into herbal medicine by the academia is normal.

‘’It is now for the academia to also recognise the national regulatory authority established to safeguard the safety of the Nigerian populace, by ensuring that the product that they are working on has to go through NAFDAC,” Adeyeye said.

According to her, there have been one or two cases where the University of Jos product was being encouraged to be used by people without going through NAFDAC.

She said that the university was supposed to go through the national regulatory authority and pave the way for NAFDAC to declare it safe for consumption.

The DG insisted that her agency must approve the clinical trial protocol, stressing that ‘’If they don’t do that and go ahead to market and sell their product, such act would be a violation of regulatory procedures.

According to her, some people might have been using it and they got better, but without being approved scientifically and documented, we may not be able to guarantee its safety for human consumption.

She recalled that NAFDAC set up an herbal medicine product committee in March 2019 before the pandemic broke out, to advance research in herbal medicine.

Adeyeye said that the goal for such idea was to make sure that the herbalist and the researcher were collaborating, so that whatever the herbalist knows from ancestral history that the research will back it up.

She explained further that collaboration with researcher would enable such herbal medicine to be advanced and to be listed by NAFDAC, if found safe for consumption.

According to her, during the pandemic there were lots of assertions that there were herbal medicines, that could be used to treat symptoms of COVID -19, pointing out that there was no single medicine that has been identified yet.

“But there are herbal medicines that could alleviate symptoms of COVID -19. However, NAFDAC has not granted registration of approval for any medicine for that.

“NAFDAC approves such medicines for listing, it means that it’s been tested and was deemed safe to use. NAFDAC cannot say herbal medicine can treat COVID -19, until clinical trial is done.

“Right now, there is no single herbal medicine that has gone through full clinical trial the way clinical trial is supposed to be done,” she said.

According to her, to do official clinical trial, you must write a protocol, you must pass it through the National Health Research Ethical Committee (NHREC), and you must pass it through NAFDAC.”

She said that the agency has not given any pass mark as regards COVID-19 herbal medicine, but that the agency has approved some herbal medicines that they claim can alleviate some of the symptoms of COVID -19.

She said that some of the approved herbal medicine which they claim can alleviate COVID-19 symptoms only work as immune boosters.

Adeyeye pointed out that such herbal medicine may prevent one from getting the disease, adding that, as far as NAFDAC was concerned, it has not approved any medicine to treat COVID -19.

“We have approved medicines that they said can alleviate symptoms and relieve people of some symptoms of COVID – 19, when the product is listed then clinical trial may start.

“It takes a lot of money to do clinical trial. University of Jos has been given approval to commence clinical trial of their products which is yet to commence.

The DG further disclosed that many herbal products have been submitted for federal government grants, because most of the herbal practitioners lack the required wherewithal to do clinical trial.

She said that many of these herbal products were being subjected to review by different agencies of government in the country.

“In terms of going through clinical trial and official protocols, none has come through yet.”

According to her, such herbal products can be used during the clinical trial to investigate whether it could be effective for COVID -19.

NAN

By Flowerbud News

July 30, 2021

By Flowerbud News

Aug 4, 2021

The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Kaduna has advised nursing and lactating mothers to place their babies  below age five on exclusive breastfeeding.

The Kaduna State Coordinator of the agency, Mr Nasiru Mato, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Kaduna, that exclusive breastfeeding would prepare such children for a healthy living.

Mato also urged nursing mothers’ strict compliance to marketing Breast Milk Substitutes (BMS) to aid infant’s nutrition.

He said that this would protect infants and young children’s feeding through promotion, protection and support for exclusive breastfeeding.

He described breast milk as natural and God-given food that is full of nourishment for babies and a balanced diet for optimum healthy growth for infants.

He said that exclusive breastfeeding used to begin within the first one hour after delivery by a pregnant woman and was expected to continue uninterrupted for the first six months.

He said that research had also proven that breastfeeding used to help eradicate development of breast tumor in a lactating mother.

“This year’s theme for the breastfeeding week celebration calls for an all-round support and encouragement of exclusive breastfeeding for greater outcomes.

“Marketers of Breast Milk Substitutes (BMS) must ensure that they play the game by the rule so as not to violate the Code of BMS as this will attract serious sanction from NAFDAC.

“NAFDAC will continue to sensitise, enlighten and monitor lactating mothers on exclusive breastfeeding so that they will do it right for them to get it right.

“We must pull all our strengths together in this feat for optimal results,”Mato said.

He urged healthcare providers, medical professionals as well as traditional institutions at all levels to continue to support NAFDAC through robust collaboration in order to achieve the desired results.

Mato also applauded the Kaduna State Government for giving priority and importance to child nutrition.

NAN

By Flowerbud News

Dec. 26, 2021

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, (NAFDAC) has urged Nigerian men to desist from using performance-enhancing substances, known as “aphrodisiac”, in order to impress their female partners.

The is contained in a statement for the Christmas and New year goodwill message to Nigerians by the the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye.

The statement was released to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday by the agency’s resident media consultant, Mr Olusayo Akintola.

Adeyeye decried the preponderance of performance-enhancing drugs, otherwise known as ‘’Manpower’’ in the local parlance, in the Nigeria market.

According to Adeyeye, most of the performance-enhancing drugs are not registered with NAFDAC, and that some of them were smuggled into the country.

“If they were registered, the producers and peddlers would not get it to the supermarkets, social media platforms and on the streets.

“Many men have died using such drugs and their relatives would blame their death on some imaginary witches in the village. Some of the producers of these drugs will claim they have no side effect.

“Majority of these products did not go through the approval process of the agency, the agency will not relent in running after the peddlers of such dangerous drugs until they are brought to book for violating the regulations,” Adeyeye said.

She said that most human beings have the need for intimacy and for a healthy sexual life and this determines their overall wellbeing.

She said that If there are physical or psychological problems to a person’s sexuality, it can hamper their self-confidence.

According to her, many people today have been caught in the web of such circumstances, leading them to seek a way out of the wood and that in recent times, the use of aphrodisiacs has become the range.

She said that many people are ignorant of the possible damage the misuse of aphrodisiacs or use of unregistered drugs could cause.

She noted that there are manufacturing quality guidelines and mandated regulations that control the production.

According to her, unbridled use of aphrodisiacs has a lot of implications in the entire body system and that the use of the products could potentially affect the blood pressure of the body.

“When you have a disproportionate flow of blood to a particular part of the body and lasting longer than normal, they tend to disrupt the normal flow of the circulatory system,” she said.

Adeyeye further said that aphrodisiacs could also interact with other drugs in the system and cause problem for the liver which could be responsible for breakdown of drugs while the byproduct of all waste goes down through the kidneys.

She said that when these things are used especially with some herbal medicines that don’t have dosage and professional prescription, it could lead to internal organ damage, as well as hurt the liver and the kidneys and this could cause untimely death.

She said that the way the body system works, everything should function the way God designed it.

She said “when we begin to disrupt the functions of the body organs overtime it affects the imbalance and the ecosystem of how the body physiology works and can lead to unintended consequences.

‘’For those who have certain health risks, like people that are hypertensive or people that have heart disease, there is more of anxiety that the drug could stimulate into the system and can lead to changes in the physiology of the body, stroke or sudden stoppage of the heart.

“These happen in cases when men suddenly slump during sexual intercourse as reported in Rivers and Cross River States recently.

‘’There are a lot of side effects. Every drug is a potential poison. Every drug has one side effect or the other.

“These are chemical products with side effects. In some cases, there are associated Adverse Drug Reactions which could lead to death.

“It is not all cases of sudden death that are caused by witches and wizards in the village; but in most cases they are caused by what we eat or drink carelessly,” she said.

Adeyeye, however, urged Nigerians to eat right and drink right, especially in this festive season, to avoid health complications after the annual events.

The NAFDAC boss recalled that over N3 billion worth of falsified and banned drugs and unwholesome food products were seized by the agency recently at the Lagos trade fair complex.

She added that no fewer than 20 trailer loads of such banned and unwholesome products were carted away by officers of the agency’s Investigation and enforcement directorate, led by Barrister Kingsley Ejiofor.

According to her, some of the drugs impounded at the trade fair complex were performance-enhancing drugs and that most of them are counterfeit.

The director general said that manufacturers don’t care about quality, they add what they are not supposed to add or add more than what they are supposed to add, and in the end, the user is the loser.

Adeyeye disclosed that the agency has ordered 40 units of a detecting device, TRU SCAN, worth US$70,000 each for use on the field to spot fake medicines.

According to her, the device will show you whether a drug is 5mg or 50mg and that the device is both qualitative and quantitative.

The NAFDAC Director General said that the agency is the first agency in the world to use the Tru Scan which does quantitative spot check on the chemical content of medicines and chemical level of the drug.

According to her, this is part of the multifaceted approach the agency is adopting in fighting the preponderance of banned and falsified drugs in the country.

She blamed people that want to make quick money at the expense of the health and lives of undescerning consumers.

She added that the agency would ensure minimized falsification of drugs to give confidence to consumers.

NAN

By Flowerbud News

Jan. 3, 2022

Nigeria will not be a dumping ground for chemicals banned in other countries.

Prof. Moji Adeyeye, the agency’s Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Olusayo Akintola, The resident media consultant of NAFDAC.

Adeyeye also explained that it was not true that 40 per cent of the registered brands of pesticide products in Nigeria were banned or restricted for use by European Union.

“The agency has put in place procedures to enable it take regulatory decisions and determine whether an active ingredient should be banned or restricted.

“NAFDAC is a signatory to the international convention that banned chemicals and pesticides such as the Rotterdam Convention, an international treaty designed to facilitate informed decision-making by countries with regard to trade in hazardous chemicals and pesticides.

“NAFDAC is ISO: 900: 2015 Quality Management System (QMS) and a certified organisation that has put in place procedures that enable the agency take regulatory decisions to determine whether an active ingredient should be banned or restricted.

“Chemicals banned by international convention have been phased out and never entertained for registration or given import permits as raw materials for production as a sovereign state,” she said.

She said NAFDAC has stringent requirement of ensuring that any pesticide to be imported into Nigeria is on the Market in the exporting country, the current Free Sale Certificate is authenticated by the Nigerian Embassy in the exporting country.

The NAFDAC boss also stated that in order to ensure that only active ingredients approved by the agency are allowed into the country, appointed testing agents (CRIA) and laboratories to conduct tests and forward results to the agency before any pesticide is shipped in.

Adeyeye stated that the World Health Organization (WHO) names four toxicity classes of pesticides:Class I – a: extremely hazardous, Class I – b: highly hazardous, Class II: moderately hazardous, Class III: slightly hazardous, Class U: Unlikely to present acute hazard.

She said these classifications are for guidance purposes to enable users to take necessary precautionary measures and to ensure the safety of food for humans, animals, and the environment.

Adequate quality control tests, she said,  are carried out by the agency before granting certifications for all products that are either imported or manufactured within the country.

The NAFDAC boss disclosed that the field trial evaluation is conducted in collaboration with research institutes in Nigeria to determine the safety, quality and efficacy of new molecules as well as inspection of manufacturing facilities.

She said that all was in the aim to establish that a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) was in place to ensure that product manufactured meets the quality standard specification for the intended use.

Other regulatory activities she said include but not limited to the issuance of authority to clear, continual sensitization and awareness exercises for relevant stakeholders on safe and responsible use of pesticides, post-marketing surveillance to mop-up fake and unregistered products.

She added that the agency also does other regulatory activities such as destruction of destruction and seized of products.

According to her, the EU uses much lower Maximum Residual Limits (MRLs) than most other CODEX member countries, hence the EU raised observations for the codex secretariat and subsequently for World Trade Organisation (WTO) to take note.

She explained that products with active ingredients that are accepted by other codex member countries including Nigeria are not allowed into the EU.

Adeyeye pointed out that lack of scientific data in Nigeria has been identified as a gap why the country participants refrain from raising observations during codex meetings, and have no choice but to go by the general codex alimentarius resolutions.

The NAFDAC boss called on all relevant research institutions to generate enough data and make available such data for the Nigerian team that attends Codex Committee meeting on Pesticides Residues (CCPR) to advance the country’s interest.

She said that all the pesticides approved for use by NAFDAC are also in use in other parts of the world, and called on investors to feel free and be confident to invest in Agricultural production in Nigeria.

She reiterated the agency determination and assurance to Nigerians that no stone would be left unturned to ensure that food products available to Nigerians are safe and wholesome.

She said that NAFDAC in the last four years of her administration has been repositioned to effectively regulate all agricultural inputs such as pesticides, and agrochemicals amidst other regulated products.

“The quality and safety of the inputs have a direct impact on the food from the farms and the health of humans, animals, and plants in line with the federal government agenda and investment in agriculture.

“The agency wishes to encourage investors to consider investing in agricultural production so that creation of jobs and ability to feed ourselves as a nation without depending too much on foreign exchange can be achieved.

‘’It is noteworthy that a lot of regulatory activities have been carried out to ensure that all inputs regulated by NAFDAC required in the production of safe food are safe, efficacious and of the right quality.

“Local production of food is highly encouraged, in the last four years, has reviewed her regulations, guidelines and strengthen collaboration with Ministry, Department and Agencies (MDA) and stakeholders to ensure effective regulations.

“Such collaborative efforts have  been recorded in agrochemicals regulation, NAFDAC has reviewed the safety of all registered agrochemicals in Nigeria in consultation with relevant stakeholders,” she stressed.

Adeyeye said a four year initiation plan was rolled out to phase-out plan for obsolete and some hazardous agrochemicals adding that such phase-out plan is currently running for Paraquat, which would be phase-out in 2024 and Atrazine in 2025.

According to her 100ml pack size of Dichlorvosis already banned due to inappropriate use and that about 30 pesticides have been banned in Nigeria.

She therefore advised the general public to visit the NAFDAC website (www.nafdac.gov.ng) for detail of banned pesticides.l, adding that, a prudent and responsible use of pesticides and agrochemicals was the paramount caution to use the priducts in Nigeria.

NAN