YOLA — The National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration And Control, NAFDAC and Federal Medical Centre, FMC Yola, Adamawa state, Northeast Nigeria have destroyed expired drugs and consumables from the Federal Medical Centre Yola pharmacy store, worth twelve million, sixty-five thousand and fifty-five naira (N12,65,000.55).
The expired drugs retrieved from the Centre’s pharmacy store included assorted medicines, injectables, and other consumables, were destroyed using the Centre’s incinerator.
The destruction was carried out under the supervision of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA and Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria, PCN, and officials of the state Ministries of Health and Environment.
Dr. Ahmed Baba Usman, Head of Clinical Services and Chairman of the Expired Drugs and Consumables Committee of the FMC Yola, said, some of the drugs were received as donations during the COVID-19 pandemic with short expiry dates and could not be exhausted.
“The consumptions of these drugs would have been more but for the lockdown necessitated by COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital services were limited; bringing down the number of patients to the Centre,” he said.
Representative of Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria, (PCN) Pharm Giwa A Emmanuel expressed delight that the expired drugs were destroyed using the Centre’s incinerator.
Emmanuel also expressed concern over the recent cost implication, compelling drug vendors to pay for the destruction of expired drugs without considering the loss incurred, which he described as “double jeopardy”.
“Asking people to pay for the destruction of their expired drugs would not augur well as it could end up in the wrong hands.”
“NAFDAC should review the charges initiated for their services.”
“NAFDAC should liaise with FMC Yola to see how she could put to use the hospital’s facility; the incinerator to reduce the cost of destroying expired drugs for other vendors within the state,” he said.
In a remark, NAFDAC representative, Joshua Bitrus, commended the effort of FMC in acquiring the cost-effective incinerator.
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