The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has expressed displeasure over the troubling return of counterfeit and substandard medications in the country, cautioning that Nigeria may be heading back to the hazardous period of the late 1990s when counterfeit drugs were widespread.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the Association ahead of its 44th Annual International Conference, the ACPN’s National Chairman, Pharm. Ezeh Igwekamma, revealed that internal research suggests over 50 per cent of medicines currently in circulation may be fake or substandard, far exceeding official estimates of 13 to 15 per cent.
“Our usually reliable and dependable research-based efforts indicate that we are back to the days of over 50 percent of drugs in circulation being fake and substandard as against official figures hovering between 13 and 15 percent,” Pharm. Igwekamma said.
He described the situation as a “national emergency”, warning that it could lead to widespread therapeutic failures and fatalities similar to those witnessed in the late 1990s. According to him, the country is sliding backwards, with the open drug markets and unregulated vendors again serving as major distribution channels for counterfeit products.
Pharm. Igwekamma blamed the resurgence on weak regulatory enforcement, stating: “Both the Federal and State Task Forces on counterfeit medicines have become largely inactive,” he said.
He also drew attention to the economic scale of the problem, describing the fake drug and drink industry as a “tens-of-billion-naira business championed by modern-day merchants of death”.
In an appeal to lawmakers, the ACPN urged the National Assembly to urgently amend the existing Fake Drug and Unwholesome Processed Food Act, which he argued would empower regulators with stronger enforcement tools to tackle the crisis effectively.
The ACPN Chairman, however, commended the recent collaboration between the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), which resulted in the sealing of the Sabon-Gari open drug market and the operationalisation of Nigeria’s first Coordinated Wholesale Centre (CWC) in Kano.
Speaking on the upcoming conference, themed “Technology Integration, Personalised Care: The Future of Community Pharmacy Practice”, Igwekamma said it will bring together over 3,000 delegates from within and outside Nigeria to address pressing pharmaceutical care issues.
The conference will also feature a ‘Walk Against Fake and Counterfeit Medicines’, alongside keynote addresses, exhibitions, and policy roundtables focusing on technology-driven, personalised pharmaceutical care as a long-term solution to Nigeria’s medicine quality crisis.
Our objective is straightforward: to guarantee that all Nigerians can obtain safe, effective, and personalized medications from authorized community pharmacies,” he stated, emphasizing that “we need to put an end to the unchecked distribution of counterfeit drugs before more lives are at risk.
Pharm. Igwekamma wrapped up by urging all parties involved, including pharmacists, technologists, lawmakers, and consumers, to back initiatives aimed at transforming Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector through innovation and enhanced regulation.
