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According to him, the 50% figure is significantly higher than the official estimates of 13% to 15%.
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has raised a red flag about the prevalence of fake drugs in the country, estimating that over 50% of medicines in circulation are counterfeit or substandard.
The National Chairman of the ACPN, Mr. Ezeh Igwekamma, who disclosed this at Press briefing to announce the Association’s 44th Annual International Conference to be held at Awka, Anambra State warned that the situation is dire and poses a serious threat to public health.
According to him, the 50% figure is significantly higher than the official estimates of 13% to 15%.
“Our research-based efforts indicate that more than half of the drugs in circulation are fake or substandard,” he warned.
Igwekamma cited multiple studies that have tracked the prevalence of fake drugs in Nigeria over the years.
As early as 1988, a study by the Federal Ministry of Health and WHO found that 33% of drugs in circulation were fake, with 7% resulting in fatal outcomes. A decade later, a review by the University of Lagos’s Faculty of Pharmacy found that nearly 50% of fake drugs were traced to Open Drug Markets, and 12.8% of cases led to death.
The ACPN National Chairman called for the amendment and implementation of the Fake Drug Act to give it real teeth against the growing fake drug and fake drink trade, which he described as a “multi-billion-naira death industry”.
While commending the recent collaboration between NAFDAC and the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) in sealing the Sabon-Geri drug market, Igwekamma urged the government to take further action to regulate the industry.
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