You’ll agree that over the past couple of days, NAFDAC has been in the news. Of course, this is because of the spread of fake products in the public. Nearly every social media post comments on one or more counterfeit products they discovered during regular activities. The health dangers that these fake products are very alarming and can cause people to lose their lives. What can NAFDAC do to stop this distribution?
This article has been carefully designed to discuss what NAFDAC can do to stop the distribution of fake products.
What NAFDAC Can Do To Stop the Circulation of Fake Products
Here are suggestions on what NAFDAC can do to stop the distribution of fake products:
- Enforcement of regulations to meet the required standards for producing products
As you know, NAFDAC is the regulator of medicine and food in this country. However, in recent times, an advent of fake products has flooded the market. Of course, this has caused people to panic when they are sick. It is also important to note that local hospitals and stores have patronized this harmful products unknowingly.
To curb this spread of fake products, NAFDAC can enforce pharmaceutical companies to submit the ingredients of all products before circulation. This deals with locally produced goods, but then you might ask ‘how will goods imported into Nigeria be checked?’
To checkmate this, NAFDAC will make it mandatory for all products imported to submit their production master file to ensure the safety and production of the goods are certain before it can enter the country.
- Inspection of Goods of Local Industries
In recent times, NAFDAC has closed down fake food companies in Nigeria. Even though this is commendable, it is not done in a thorough way. NAFDAC should ensure that every Local Government council in Nigeria has an active NAFDAC council that will check the production of fake products in Nigeria periodically. council will check for fake products in their local government and ensure products comply with globally recognized standards.
- Encouragement of Locally Manufactured Products
You’ll agree that it is easier to manage what you can see rather than what you cannot. Most of the time, locally manufactured industries can be easily monitored and checked for errors in production rather than foreign-produced products. As a result, this can make it hard for NAFDAC to examine the process in which those goods are made.
Additionally, NAFDAC can encourage local production by promoting bringing in foreign manufacturers to teach or mentor local producers on how to produce quality products that complies with the regulatory standards in their country.
- Follow Up With Complaints
It has come to our attention that people who complain about fake products on social media get little feedback from NAFDAC as to what they’re currently doing to follow-up on these complaints. As it is often noted, customers tend to find social media as their comfort zone to air their complaints, so NAFDAC can leverage this medium by getting fake product manufacturers and punishing them.
Furthermore, NAFDAC can launch a webpage where consumers can complain of fake products anonymously. By doing this, customers can freely report suspected fake products without fear or hassle.
- Use of Technology in Curbing Abuse
Technology has become a major part of our lives and can also be used as a tool for curbing fake products in the market. In recent times, NAFDAC has used technologies to fight counterfeit products. One of them is the GPHF Minilab. What does the GPHF Minilab do?
This tool is a mini laboratory that is used to detect counterfeit medicine. While this tool is good, it is not spread across all NAFDAC offices around the country. This tool can only be found in some branches of NAFDAC not all of them which can make it difficult to ascertain if a drug is fake or not.
As a suggestion, NAFDAC can use track-and-trace systems. How can this work? The product of a particular goods gets a unique number at the factory. Every time it moves from warehouse to truck to shop, the number is scanned. If a fake product enters the chain, the system catches it.
- Punish Offenders More Harder
A law with no teeth does not scare anyone. NAFDAC must work with the police and the courts to make sure offenders are prosecuted. Recently, there have been a suggestion on the internet that people who produced fake products should attract Capital Punishment.
Heavy fines and jail terms will send a message to future offenders. So does shutting down factories and shops for good. NAFDAC should also publish the names of convicted sellers, which will help reduce the number of fake product sellers in Nigeria. Nobody likes public shame so when their names are in the newspaper the next day, others will take note.
NAFDAC should also push lawmakers to update the laws.You’ll agree that penalties written decades ago may no longer match the harm done today.
- NAFDAC Can Collaborate With Other Bodies to Prevent Fake Products Circulation
NAFDAC, SON, FCCPC, and Customs each cover different goods. Usually, gaps between these three agencies are where criminals hide. So, shared intelligence closes those gaps. A joint task force would help in apprehending culprits. One database of known counterfeiters would help other bodies in Nigeria.
As noted earlier, many counterfeit products arrive in shipping containers. The Nigeria Customs Service must tighten checks at ports and land borders. The IP Enforcement Unit should work closely with brand owners. Brands know what the real product looks like. Customs can then spot the fakes before they are sold in the market.
The FCCPA protects consumers from deceptive and dangerous goods. The Counterfeit and Fake Products Act criminalises fake medicines and unwholesome foods. The SON Act lets officers seize and destroy substandard items. These laws only work when the regulatory bodies collaborate. When they work hand in hand, fake products in Nigeria will not see the light of day!
Why Fake Products Thrive In Nigeria
Many have wondered, why fake products thrive in Nigeria. Here are some of the reasons they thrive:
1. Poverty Pushes People to Cheaper Options
There’s no doubt that in recent times, Nigerians have experienced tough economic hardship. As a result, Nigerians live on very little money. When a family member falls sick, they tend to manage every naira they have. The real drug may cost ₦5,000. A “similar” one at the next shop might cost even less, for ₦1,500. Due to this, a similar choice may be the best for them.
Sometimes Nigerians know that cheap drug is risky. However, they buy it anyway. They believe something is better than nothing. Other times they have no idea. They simply trust the seller.
Fake drug makers know this. They aim straight at people who cannot afford the real medicine, hence, poverty is their best customer.
- The Profit Is Huge and the Cost Is Tiny
Another factor that makes fake products thrive is that making real products by a manufacturer is quite expensive. Usually, proper production requires clean factories, trained staff, quality ingredients, and long testing periods. On the other hand, a fake product doesn’t need to go through all those processes. For example, a manufacturer, in the event of cutting costs, may try to remove some essential materials in producing a product, which can cause harm to the consumer’s body.
- Hard-to-Control Fake Products Markets
Some of Nigeria’s largest products markets are famous, like those in Onitsha, Lagos and Kano. Thousands of traders work in them. As a result, millions of fake products change hands every day.
The scale is the problem. Hundreds of shops sit side by side, and these products move in and out quickly. A seller can hide stock in a back room or move it overnight. By the time NAFDAC officers arrive, the evidence may be gone.
Many pharmacies and roadside hawkers also buy from these hubs. So fake products spread from one market to towns and villages far away.
- Corruption Make Fake products Leak
Corruption is the quiet partner of fake products. A dishonest enforcement official may take money to ignore a shipment. A tipped-off seller may hide his goods before a raid, and a file may disappear suddenly.
It is important to note that not every enforcement officer is corrupt. Many work hard and risk their safety. But you’ll agree that even a few bad ones weaken the whole system. They turn guards into gates that can be opened for a price.
Additionally, most people do not know how to spot a fake product. So, when they look at the box and the price. If both seem fine, they pay. Fake products producers know this too, so they copy packaging closely. Even a trained eye can be fooled.
Conclusion
The government can take more proactive measures to stop the circulation of fake products. The harmful effects of fake products can cause more harm than good to citizens. Thereby increasing the rate which people are admitted to the hospital. Anything people consume can either make or break them; hence the need for NAFDAC to take serious measures in combating counterfeit products.
