Health
JUST IN: NAFDAC goes digital in fight against fake pharmaceutical products
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has gone digital in its efforts to rid the country of substandard and falsified pharmaceutical products.
During a two-day workshop and training session in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday, NAFDAC introduced an app, Greenbook, an online platform for identifying the source of a product.
The Greenbook allows consumers to enter the product name, brand name, or registration number to search for information about its registration status.
If the product is listed in the Greenbook, it signifies that it has been registered by NAFDAC and is considered authentic.
The app serves as a tool to help consumers identify and avoid potentially fake or substandard products.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, speaking at the workshop in Port Harcourt, stated that these fake products are “produced by our greedy businessmen and their international collaborators to get rich or make money,” describing it as the worst form of inhumanity of man to his fellow men.
Prof. Adeyeye, who was represented by the Director of the Post-Marketing Surveillance Directorate, NAFDAC, Fraden Bitrus, noted that the agency has, over the years, deployed various measures to combat falsified products.
She expressed concern that counterfeiters have adopted increasingly sophisticated methods to advance their trade but assured that NAFDAC “is poised to use technologies and modern means to mitigate the activities of counterfeiters, hence the need for stakeholder sensitisation.”
She added that the workshop aims to educate stakeholders and provide hands-on training on the NAFDAC Greenbook, the Traceability Regulation 2024, and the Paediatric Regulation 2024, ensuring that both the regulator and the regulated are aligned in the fight against substandard and falsified medical products.
Prof. Adeyeye revealed that the project is being implemented in phases, initially used for COVID-19 vaccine distribution as a pilot project, which yielded highly effective results.
She noted, “Within 24 hours, batches of substandard or defective vaccines distributed in the country were traced and recalled.”
She further stated, “We have implemented it for commodities in public health, such as antimalarial and narcotic products.
Over time, we will extend it to other products. Please note that with this technology, stakeholders can detect and reject SF products before they enter the supply chain.”
She called on all stakeholders in the healthcare sector to support these initiatives to combat fake products and ensure the availability of quality, safe, and efficacious medical products for the people of Nigeria.
Health
UNIZIK nursing school to review fee hike after students protest
” As for the school fees, yes, there was an increment. We just had a new board and it decided to review the tuition to enable the institution provide the best for the students. They proposed N580,000 to us and we approved it, but there is still room to take another look at it and harmonise things.”
The management of the School of Nursing at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State, has pledged to engage the governing board and student leaders to address concerns over the recent increase in tuition fees.
The assurance followed a protest on Tuesday by students of the institution who decried what they described as an astronomical hike in their fees from N90,000 to N580,000.
The PUNCH, reported that the protesting students marched within the school premises carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs, including, “We no go gree, reduce the school fees, we no go gree,” to express their displeasure over the increase.
The fee increment reportedly followed an internal memo issued on January 23 by O.I. Ezejiofor, the Chairman of the Board and Chief Medical Advisory Committee of the NAUTH College of Nursing, announcing an upward review of tuition to facilitate improvements in the institution.
The Chief Medical Director of NAUTH, Prof. Joseph Ugboaja, said that he had been informed about the protest and promised that the management would meet with the relevant stakeholders to resolve the issue.
“I will return to the institution and we will sit with members of the board who proposed the new tuition and also with the students union leadership to sort things out,” Ugboaja said.
“As for the school fees, yes, there was an increment. We just had a new board and it decided to review the tuition to enable the institution provide the best for the students. They proposed N580,000 to us and we approved it, but there is still room to take another look at it and harmonise things.”
Health
Tinubu approves employment of 50 doctors, 100 nurses across correctional centres
The minister said that the president’s approval followed the dearth of medical personnel in some correctional centres.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the employment of 50 medical doctors and 100 nurses across the nation’s correctional centres’ hospitals.
The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this when the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
The minister said that the president’s approval followed the dearth of medical personnel in some correctional centres.
He said that the hospital in the correctional centre in River had no medical doctor to render service to the inmates.
Health
Nigerians Spend $550m annually on Foreign Medical Treatments – CBN report
In August 2023, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, pledged to prioritise health security and reduce outward medical travels.
•Prof Muhammad Pate
The amounts of money spent by Nigerians travelling abroad for medical treatments surged to $549.29 million in the first nine months of 2025, a 17.96 percent increase from $465.67 million in the same period of 2024.
This is despite repeated pledges by the federal government to improve local healthcare infrastructure and reduce dependence on treatments abroad.
The figure, stated in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) quarterly statistical bulletin for Q3 2025 , shows sustained growth in medical-related travel expenses.
In the breakdown, Nigerians spent $151.53 million in Q1 2025, $189.41million in Q2, and $208.35 million in Q3, bringing the nine-month total to $549.29 million. By comparison, the same period in 2024 recorded $142.95 million, $153.67 million, and $169.04 million, respectively.
The increase underscores persistent demand for healthcare abroad, particularly for critical treatments such as cardiovascular procedures and other specialised care.
In August 2023, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, pledged to prioritise health security and reduce outward medical travels.
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