The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced the cessation of sachet alcohol registration from February 2024 as part of its strategy to reduce its accessibility, especially to young people. The decision is part of broader efforts to curb public health challenges in Nigeria.
During a press briefing in Lagos on Thursday, NAFDAC’s Director General, Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, reviewed the agency’s accomplishments over the past seven years and revealed a transformative strategic vision for 2025. She outlined key pillars, including robust governance, maternal and child health, best practices, safety and quality of regulated products, and monitoring supply chains.
One of the most pressing issues for NAFDAC, according to Adeyeye, is the acute understaffing of the agency, which is a barrier to effective regulatory oversight. Despite the extensive regulatory responsibilities of the agency, NAFDAC only has 2,000 staff nationwide, far below the 10,000 required to meet global standards. To address this, NAFDAC plans to recruit volunteers and has sought approval for more hires to better manage the country’s public health needs.
The agency’s infrastructure development is also a focus, with plans to complete 10 state and zonal offices, laboratories, and the Vaccines, Biologics, and Medical Devices Laboratory in Oshodi. NAFDAC is also investing in vehicles, laboratory equipment, and solar panels to improve efficiency and reduce energy costs in selected facilities.
As part of its 2025 focus on maternal, newborn, and child health, NAFDAC will prioritize regulating maternal health products and ensuring the availability of essential medicines for children, such as antimalarials, antibiotics, and therapeutic foods for malnourished children. The agency aims to reduce the prevalence of falsified and substandard products through improved post-marketing surveillance and inspections.
On herbal medicines and cosmetics, NAFDAC is expanding its regulatory efforts, collaborating with the Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) to create a Nigerian Herbal Pharmacopoeia and Traditional Medicine Formulary. This collaboration will also support clinical trials for herbal products targeting common diseases like malaria, diabetes, and hypertension.
Additionally, NAFDAC is advancing supply chain security through the expansion of its GS1-driven track-and-trace technology, which will now cover maternal, newborn, and child health commodities and high-risk foods and medicines. This system, which has already been applied to COVID-19 vaccines and antimalarials, aims to prevent product diversion or infiltration.
Financially, NAFDAC has made significant progress, improving from a ₦3.2 billion debt in 2018 to a stable financial position. Going forward, the agency plans to increase funding to expand its workforce, procure necessary tools, and create better working conditions.
Adeyeye concluded that the 2025 Strategic Plan is designed to enhance regulatory efficiency, safeguard public health, and support local industries, positioning NAFDAC to play a leading role in ensuring a healthier Nigeria.
She also stressed the importance of enforcing the Executive Order on local content to support manufacturers and mitigate the smuggling of counterfeit products, particularly at border points, which remain a challenge due to understaffing. In response to global health concerns, such as the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China, NAFDAC is prioritizing local manufacturing of medical devices and pharmaceuticals to reduce dependency on imports in times of crisis.
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