Budget Defense: NAFDAC will spend $57,000 on equipment to detect fake products

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director General of the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has revealed that the agency is about to receive some dictating devices called true scan, which are capable of dictating fake drugs circulating in the country.

Adeyeye made the revelation on Thursday while testifying before the House Committee on Health Care Services about the agency’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2022.

According to her, Nigeria was the first country in the world to purchase the device, and it has so far purchased 40 of the devices, which cost 57 thousand US dollars each.

“Another method of detecting substandard drugs in the country is to use a detection device that the FEC approved in December 2020.” Each of these devices costs $57,000 USD. Because of our foresight, we were able to purchase 40 units that are currently being manufactured. TRUE SCAN” is the name of the program.

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“About ten years ago, NAFDAC was the first country (agency) in the world to use TRUE SCAN, and we purchased about five or six at the time.” We have now purchased 40, which the FEC has approved, and we intend to purchase more.

“You can use that device and put it on the medicine before it can tell you if it’s Paracetamol or Panadol, but it won’t tell you if the level is substandard or not.” It is now quantitative. “It can tell you whether it’s fortified or not,” she explained.

The Director General also stated that the agency was confronted with challenges from cabals, stating that there are numerous cabals involved in drug trafficking in Nigeria, adding that “we couldn’t overcome these cabals.”

“Some cabals fight us in the course of our work, and we are committed to putting an end to Nigerians being killed by fake products,” she said.

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The Director-General presented a N25.2 billion estimate for the agency’s 2022 fiscal year expenditure and revenue projections, including capital projects slated for execution.

In summary, the agency has set aside N2.9 billion for the construction of state offices, N1.7 billion for generators, N1.4 billion for laboratory equipment, N1.42 billion for motor vehicles, N666 million for information and communications technology, and N78 million for furniture, for a total of N6.01 billion.

Furthermore, the agency budgeted N6.78 billion for staff emoluments, N262 billion for equipment, N157.8 million for the purchase of laptop computers, and N40.1 million for the construction of its Ebonyi state office in 2022.

Speaking about the proposed amount budgeted for vehicles in the agency’s 2022 budget, Adeleke stated that the agency had previously relied on other organizations’ vehicles to function.

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“When I came in, we didn’t have any vehicles; vehicles are our lifeline.” We do 90% of our work in the field, and we can’t do it effectively if we don’t have vehicles. All of the vehicles we have purchased or intend to purchase have been and will be tracked in order to avoid situations in which the vehicles are diverted for purposes other than our work.

“We can’t be fair in our judgment if an organization uses its cars to convey us for inspection, so NAFDAC needs vehicles for inspection and many other duties,” she added.