National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control

TheNational Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control(NAFDAC) is a Nigerianfederal agencyunder theFederal Ministry of Healththat is responsible for regulating and controlling the manufacture, importation, exportation, advertisement, distribution, sale, and use offood,drugs,cosmetics, medical devices, chemicals, and packaged water.
The agency is headed byMojisola Adeyeye, who was appointed in 2017 by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the director-general. She completed her five-year term on 2 November 2022 and was reappointed for a second term on 1 December 2022.
The organisation was established to counter illicit and counterfeit products in Nigeria in 1993 under the country's health and safety law.Adulteratedandcounterfeit drugsare a problem in Nigeria. In one 1989 incident, over 150 children died as a result ofparacetamolsyrup containingdiethylene glycol. The problem of fake drugs was so severe that neighbouring countries such asGhanaandSierra Leoneofficially banned the sale of drugs, foods, and beverage products made in Nigeria.
Such problems led to the establishment of NAFDAC, with the goal of eliminating counterfeit pharmaceuticals, foods, and beverages products that are not manufactured in Nigeria and ensuring that available medications are safe and effective.
The formation of NAFDAC was inspired by a 1988World Health Assemblyresolution requesting countries' help in combating the global health threat posed bycounterfeit pharmaceuticals.
In December 1992, NAFDAC's first governing council was formed. The council was chaired by Tanimu Saulawa. In January 1993, supporting legislation was approved as Legislative Decree No. 15 of 1993. On 1 January 1994, NAFDAC was officially established as a parastatal of the federal ministry of health.
NAFDAC replaced an earlier federal ministry of health body, the Directorate of Food and Drug Administration and Control, which had been deemed ineffective, partially because of a lack of laws concerning fake drugs.
Chairman and council
The NAFDAC governing council is chaired by a chairman appointed by the president on the recommendation of the minister of health. The council members include:
Three people from the general public are also represented on the council.
NAFDAC is divided into 20 directorates and several units, including:
NAFDAC has various basic functions.According to the requirements of its enabling decree, the agency was authorised to:
NAFDAC envisions that by making these functions known, its actions will be apparent “in all sectors that deal with food, cosmetics, medical devices, bottled water, and chemicals to the extent of instilling the extra need for caution and compulsion to respect and obey existingregulationsboth for healthy living and knowledge of certain sanctions or default. Despite the establishment of NAFDAC, the sale and use of fake drugs did not end.
Dissatisfied with progress in combating fake drugs, PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo's administration dissolved the management of NAFDAC in August 2000. In April 2001, a new management, withDora Akunyilias director-general, was inaugurated.The team reorganised the agency, which has been successful in the recent past due to three new federal policies:
The activities of NAFDAC have been the subject of considerable scrutiny in recent years. The agency has drawn fire for being susceptible to overt government interference, subject to bribery, internal feuding, and constant rumours and allegations abound concerning the misappropriation of funds. In one high-profile (and typical) case, the former NAFDAC director of finance and accounts, Andrew Ademola Mogbojuri, alleged mass fraud in 2015 against the agency's director-general, Paul Orhii.The agency claimed sour grapes were behind the allegation and labelled Mogbojuri's claim "misleading and cheap blackmail."
Orhii was also the subject of a sweeping fraud allegation by NAFDACwhistleblowersearlier in 2015. A petition was sent to Nigerian PresidentMuhammadu Buhari, allegingfrivolouscontract awards and supplies, manipulated publicity efforts, donations, and international air travelracketeering.
Some of the world's largest brewers have been caught up in NAFDAC scandals as well. From a 2013 report alleging bribery conducted byGuinnessandHeineken:
NAFDAC ensures it maintains very close contact with a number of national and international organisations whose activities relate to its functions. Such organisations include the following.
In order to keep in touch with the international scene for information, training, cooperation assistance, aid, and financing of specific projects, especially in these days of global and national austerity, the agency maintains close relationships with a number of international agencies, some of which include: