NAFDAC To Check Unauthorised Herbal Hawkers

The National Agency for
Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Monday expressed readiness to collaborate with the police in checking unauthorised herbal medicine mobile-hawking.
The NAFDAC’s Coordinator in Anambra, Dr Christiana Esenwah, disclosed this to newsmen in Onitsha.
Esenwah said hawkers’ activities were not just causing embarrassment to the agency, but also constituting nuisance to Anambra residents.
She noted that hawkers had remained undaunted even after many of them had been caught, sanctioned and fined by the agency.
Esenwah said the increased administrative charges and tariffs of operating herbal medicine outlets, had not deterred them.
“We have observed that most of their activities have been reduced to after-hours (after office hours), that is after 4 o’clock (p.m.).
“They know that between the hours of 8 and 4, we are active; so by the time we are closing at about 5pm or 6pm they come out in numbers.
“It is so annoying; and we feel we need to get security agents; we need to go a step further, there are people who operate shifts.
“I think we can work in collaboration with them (security agents), since these people (hawkers) have seen that once we close from work, it is time for them to operate,’’ she said.
Esenwah announced that the agency would widen its surveillance of Anambra, by expanding the scope of NAFDAC Consumer Safety Clubs (NCSC), in secondary schools.