By Muhammad Amaan
The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has canvassed for local production of drugs, foods and other products in order to promote economic stability and self-sufficiency.
The Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye spoke at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.
According to her, local production is key to boosting the country’s Gross Domestic Product
“It is not about what we eat but what we can trade to increase our Gross Domestic Product to stop emigration, also known as Japa syndrome. If we don’t industrialise, we will continue to beg,” she said.
Prof. Adeyeye, who reaffirmed her commitment to raising the standard of local production, said quality had the potential to engender confidence on the part of producers and consumers.
“If we are using international standard for our products, that means you and I can sleep well,” she said.
Adeyeye, who commended President Bola Tinubu for encouraging local content, said NAFDAC devised its 5+5 policy to promote local production.
The 5+5 policy involves migration of previously imported products that can be manufactured locally to local manufacturing after last renewal of five years post effective date of Regulatory Directive (RD) date.
The DG also called for national restraint to frivolities that had continued to deplete the country’s resources.
She identified attitudinal change as a critical element required to attain national glory.
“Nigeria should learn not to owe money. We should learn how to deny ourselves certain frivolities. We have not taught ourselves on how to be ashamed. We use God flippantly as if God does not know we are deceiving ourselves,” she said.
Meanwhile, the NAFDAC DG said the agency supports herbal medicine production in the country.
She, however, explained that for NAFDAC to accommodate herbal medicine as part of its regulated products, such herbal preparation must go through clinical trials.
She disclosed that the major challenge to herbal medicine practitioners is how to secure resources to finance clinical trial for their products, which she said cost a lot of money because it is a major aspect in medicine.
She added that “I believe in natural medicine, I was brought up with it, like the Agbo that we were taking and it was working.
“Herbal medicine or natural medicine work, before I came back home from the United States, I started research on natural medicine for the cure of sickle cell, my niece who is a Sickler got on it and her episodes decreased by 70 to 80 per cent.”
She explained that the agency gives approval for natural medicines once proven it is not toxic, and they have been used and tested before.
“We approve them for two years and then they can renew if they do clinical trial because it is something we are not used to in Nigeria. China supports many of these herbal practitioners.”
The director-general also spoke about using fruits and vegetables as medicine to cure some illnesses, adding that some of these fruits contain antioxidants that prevent cancer.
