NAPPMED Seeks Collaboration To Eliminate Fake Drugs

The National Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPPMED), Port Harcourt City Local Government Area (PHALGA), Rives State, has called on stakeholders in the health sector and security agencies to collaborate with a view to eliminating fake, expired and adulterated drugs from the state.
Chairman of NAPPMED, PHALGA Chapter, Barr. Basil Ononiwu, gave the charge recently while briefing newsmen ahead of a proposed seminar scheduled to hold today,  in Port Harcourt.
Ononiwu said that the role and importance of NAPPMED cannot be ignored if the  state government’s health policies are to be achieved, noting that the health needs  of rural dwellers are taken care of mostly by members of the association.
He explained that the activities of patent medicine vendors are compliementary to those of  pharmacists and other medical practitioners, considering the confidence  most citizens have in the services of NAPPMED.
The NAPPMED boss therefore urged the state government to integrate the members of the association in such key programmes as the Roll Back Malaria Project and various immunization exercises
He said, “let me use this opportunity to emphasize that partnership with a legally registered association with membership in over 700 local government areas in the country will no doubt yield  optimal results and we  look forward to seeing this materialise”.
In a separate interview, the Director, Public Health, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr. Nnanna Onyekwere  stated that the State “is doing everything possible to check the trend of fake and  sub-standard drugs in Rivers State”.
According to him, this is being done with the ultimate intention of preventing  inherent dangers accruable  from the influx of such drugs in the state.

Sogbeba Dokubo