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.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed that Lassa fever has claimed 259 lives and infected 1,086 people across 24 states and 118 local government areas so far in 2026.
In its latest Lassa Fever Situation Report for epidemiological week 36 (August 31 to September 6), the agency said the figures represent a case fatality rate of 23.9 percent — significantly higher than the 18.6 percent recorded during the same period in 2025.
Twelve new confirmed cases were recorded in week 36, a decline from the 18 cases reported the previous week. The fresh infections were detected in Ondo, Edo and Kogi states.
Five states continue to bear the heaviest burden, accounting for 87 percent of all confirmed cases this year: Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Benue and Edo. People aged 21 to 30 remain the most affected age group.
The NCDC noted that no new infections among healthcare workers were recorded during the latest reporting week. The agency continues to urge the public to maintain hygiene, avoid contact with rodents and their droppings, and seek early medical care if symptoms appear.
Health
Nigerian hospital successfully performs kidney cancer surgery via tele-robotic
The development could reduce the need for Nigerians to travel abroad for specialised medical treatment, thereby reducing expenditure on international travel, accommodation and medical services.
• A surgeon performing tele-robotic surgery.
Nisa Premier Hospital, Abuja, has partnered with RoboMed Global and The Redeemer’s Health Village (RHV) to successfully perform what the hospital described as the first tele-robotic surgery in Nigeria and West Africa.
The landmark kidney cancer surgery was performed on a patient at Nisa Premier Hospital, Abuja, while the surgeon, Professor Obi Ekwenna-Davis, remotely controlled the robotic surgical platform from Redeemer’s Health Village in Lagos.
The procedure, which lasted approximately three hours, was performed to remove a kidney affected by a cancerous tumour.
The hospital said the patient had been discharged following the successful procedure, although details about the patient’s identity and condition were withheld for privacy reasons.
Speaking during an event to mark the milestone, the Chief Executive Officer of Nisa Premier Hospital, Dr Ibrahim Wada, said the development demonstrated the potential of tele-robotic surgery to connect specialist surgical expertise with patients across Nigeria.
Wada said the procedure was carried out using the MicroPort robotic surgical platform installed at Nisa Premier Hospital, with the remote surgeon controlling the system from Lagos.
He said the development could reduce the need for Nigerians to travel abroad for specialised medical treatment, thereby reducing expenditure on international travel, accommodation and medical services.
According to him, the technology also creates an opportunity for Nigerians to access specialised expertise from doctors located in other parts of the world without requiring the doctors to travel physically to Nigeria.
Source: Daily Trust
Health
Ondo ‘Monkey Tail’ herbal drink kills 49
The Commissioner for Health in the State, Dr Banji Ajaka, who disclosed this on Wednesday night, said the number of affected persons has now climbed to 170.
A locally produced herbal concoctions known as ‘Monkey Tail’ in Ondo State has killed 49 people .
The Commissioner for Health in the State, Dr Banji Ajaka, who disclosed this on Wednesday night, said the number of affected persons has now climbed to 170.
He explained that the latest deaths were recorded in Irele Local Government Area of the state, where eight persons have died from suspected poisoning.
Ajaka disclosed that health authorities had deployed response teams to Irele LGA and other affected communities to conduct surveillance, manage cases and trace the source of the suspected toxic substance.
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