Paediatrician Blames Malaria Scourge On Fake Drugs

A Paediatrician, Prof. Olugbenga Mokuolu, has said that counterfeit malaria drugs have become a major threat to effective malaria treatment in Nigeria.

Mokuolu, who is member of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Anti-malaria Therapy Group, told newsmen in Lagos that the trend needed to be tackled urgently.

He said that there were so many fake malaria drugs in Nigeria as a result of the country’s weak regulatory system.

The paediatrician said that fake malaria drugs had contributed to high death rate and under-treatment of the disease in patients.

“Over 70 per cent of anti-malaria drugs are faked and this poses a threat to malaria treatment.

“Many people have been under-treated, thereby causing a re-occurrence.”

Mokuolu urged the regulatory agencies to strengthen efforts in their fight against the influx of fake malaria drugs.

He also called on the Federal Government to fund malaria researches to help medical practitioners update their knowledge in the treatment of malaria.

“Government should invest in continued research on malaria and medical practitioners should keep themselves abreast of latest findings on diagnosis and treatment,” he added.