[Ip-health] BMJ: India agrees to help Nigeria tackle the import of fake drugs

[Mike Palmedo]

http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/326/7401/1234-d


    India agrees to help Nigeria tackle the import of fake drugs

/ Lagos/ Abiodun Raufu
/BMJ/ 2003;326:1234 (7 June)

India, one of the largest exporters of fake and substandard drugs to
Nigeria, has agreed to take measures to tackle the problem. It is
concerned about Nigeria=92s threat to ban the import of all drugs from
countries that export fake drugs to its shores.

The Indian minister of state for commerce and industry, Mr Shri Rajiv
Pratap Rudy, visited Nigeria last week and said that his government had
introduced inspections to stop the export of fake drugs to Nigeria.

"India is one of the largest exporters of pharmaceuticals into Nigeria,"
he said, "and Indian pharmaceutical companies are constantly in touch
with Nigeria=92s National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and
Control [NAFDAC] and have institutionalised pre-export inspection in
India to control export of substandard drugs to Nigeria."

He continued: "We have taken note of the quality of pharmaceuticals, and
inspection agencies have taken steps to ensure that substandard products
do not get out of the country. We are working with NAFDAC to ensure that
these products are not exported out of India. A check has been put in
place."

India also promised to send the agency a list of blacklisted Indian drug
manufacturers and companies involved in fake products.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria said that at least 70% of the
drugs in circulation in Nigeria are fake and that most imported fake and
substandard drugs in Nigeria come from India, China, Pakistan, Egypt,
and Indonesia.

Nigerian health experts say that fake and substandard drugs in the
country have been endangering health and have resulted in several deaths.

NAFDAC=92s chief executive, Dr Dora Akunyili, said that fake drugs were
responsible for the growing number of cases of hypertension, heart
failure, stroke, and other illnesses in Nigeria.

"When people are taking fake or substandard antihypertension drugs,
their blood pressure will continue to rise=97because what they are taking
is rubbish=97until they go down with stroke or even die," she said. "Some
of these fake drugs contain nothing. Some of them contain chalk, milk in
capsules, and some of them contain little of the active ingredients."