Okereke Melody, Anukwu Ignatius, Solarin Sola, Ohuabunwa Mazi Sam
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
National Chairman, Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria.
Innov Pharm. 2021 Jun 10;12(3). doi: 10.24926/iip.v12i3.4233. eCollection 2021.
Substandard and counterfeit medicines (SCMs) are a major public health threat in Africa. In Nigeria, the manufacture and distribution of substandard and counterfeit medicines in the drug market are booming, despite the efforts of law enforcement agencies to crack down on criminal syndicates over the years. The current situation has been exacerbated due to factors tied to unregulated open drug markets, lack of counterfeit detection technology, poor local pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity, and porous cross-border monitoring and surveillance systems. However, industrial pharmacists have a key role to play in combatting the production and circulation of SCMs in the Nigerian drug market. In this commentary, we examine the prevalence of SCMs in Nigeria and proffer feasible recommendations that industrial pharmacists can leverage to ensure its effective containment.
不合格药品和假药是非洲主要的公共卫生威胁。在尼日利亚，尽管执法机构多年来一直在努力打击犯罪集团，但药品市场上不合格药品和假药的生产与销售却十分猖獗。由于存在不受监管的开放药品市场、缺乏假药检测技术、当地制药生产能力薄弱以及跨境监测和监管系统漏洞等因素，当前形势进一步恶化。然而，工业药剂师在打击尼日利亚药品市场上不合格药品和假药的生产与流通方面可发挥关键作用。在本评论中，我们研究了尼日利亚不合格药品和假药的流行情况，并提出了可行的建议，工业药剂师可借此确保有效遏制此类药品。
