Kwara commends NAFDAC over planned drug safety assessment in hospitals
The Kwara State Ministry of Health has commended the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for its commitment to protecting public health through its regulatory and health programmes.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Taoheed Abdullahi, gave the commendation while receiving the State Coordinator of NAFDAC, Pharm. Mariam Issa-Onilu, and her team during a courtesy visit to notify the Ministry of the agency’s routine pharmacovigilance assessment of healthcare facilities across the state.
Dr. Abdullahi stressed the importance of strengthening Pharmacovigilance Committees (PVCs) in health facilities and urged NAFDAC to intensify public awareness campaigns on medicine safety and adverse drug reaction reporting through jingles, stakeholder engagement, community outreach and educational materials.
He also assured the agency of the Ministry’s support and pledged to facilitate NAFDAC’s participation in the Health Gist programme to enhance public understanding of pharmacovigilance.
Speaking earlier, Issa-Onilu said the assessment was aimed at promoting effective pharmacovigilance practices in line with the Nigeria National Pharmacovigilance Policy and Implementation Framework 2020.
According to her, the exercise will evaluate the structure and functionality of Pharmacovigilance Committees, adverse drug reaction reporting systems, risk management and signal detection processes, as well as collaboration between PVC units and other stakeholders.
The assessment is part of NAFDAC’s efforts to strengthen medicine safety monitoring and improve healthcare outcomes across the state.
