Chaotic Drug Distribution Threatens Nigeria’s Health Sector

As counterfeit medicines continue to impact negatively on consumers, exposing them to dangerous and ineffective medical products, industry experts have expressed concern over the chaotic drug distribution system and sale of drugs in the open market, which is eroding the confidence of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector and threatening the health sector.

With Nigeria said to lose over N200 billion annually to counterfeit medicines, Nigeria remains the only country where drugs are sold under in the open with people engaging in pharmaceutical trading and drugs supplied without ensuring they are safe, effective and of good quality.

Speaking with BusinessDay at a Stakeholders’ meeting on drug distribution in Nigeria, Onyebuchi Chukwu, minister of Health, revealed that the drug distribution system has remained uncoordinated, a situation which has posed a big challenge to the pharmaceutical sector with fake, adulterated and sub standard drugs in circulation which is not in the interest the of healthcare delivery system.