*Urges manufacturers of satchet alcohol to comply with ban
Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), says she supports herbal medicine production in the country.
She said this on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.
She, however, explained that for NAFDAC to accommodate herbal medicine as part of its regulated products, such herbal preparation must go through clinical trials.
She disclosed that the major challenge to herbal medicine practitioners is how to secure resources to finance clinical trial for their products, which she said cost a lot of money because it is a major aspect in medicine.
She added that “I believe in natural medicine, I was brought up with it, like the Agbo that we were taking and it was working.
“Herbal medicine or natural medicine work, before I came back home from the United States, I started a research on natural medicine for the cure of sickle cell, my niece who is a sickler got on it and her episodes decreased by 70 to 80 per cent.”
She explained that the agency gives approval for natural medicines once proven it is not toxic, and they have been used and tested before.
“We approve them for two years and then they can renew if they do clinical trial because it is something we are not used to in Nigeria.
“China supports many of these herbal practitioners.”
The director-general also spoke about using fruits and vegetables as medicine to cure some illnesses, adding that some of these fruits contain antioxidants that prevent cancer.
SATCHET ALCOHOL
The Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has urged manufacturers and distributors of alcoholic beverages to comply with the ban on satchet and PET bottles alcohol.
She made the call when she featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja on Sunday.
Emphasising that alcohol in PET bottles had been banned, she cautioned distributors and retailers to desist from sale and distribution of the banned product.
She recalled the ministerial ban and the agreement signed by Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria in 2018.
The NAFDAC boss said that the agreement, which introduced a phased withdrawal process, reached final phase of ensuring complete removal of the banned products from markets.
She noted that the agency stopped registering and renewing licences for these products since 2018, as manufacturers were given ample time to exhaust stocks and halt production.
She said that enlightenment campaigns and stakeholder engagements were conducted to ensure compliance with the ban.
She expressed concern over alcohol consumption among teenagers and youths, saying that the satchet size and the cost make it easily accessible, but the impact could be devastating.
She reiterated the agency’s determination to safeguard public health through strict regulatory measures.
