By Editor
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Prof. Muhammed Ali Pate yesterday cautioned Kano patent medicine dealers to comply with court order compelling their relocation from the Sabon Gari market to Coordinated Wholesale Centre (CWC) in Dangwauro village.
But the Minister insisted government will not be intimidated to compromise public health safety for profit and commercialization of the medicine dealers in the state.
Professor Pate gave the warning Friday while inspecting the Wholesale center in Kano amidst growing resistance of the occupants to vacate the open market.
The Minister worried over the illegal pharmaceutical trading exercise at the Kano open market over the years, lamented the damage such activities inflicted on the public health.
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Professor Pate reminded that Federal government is unlocking the health care value chain in Nigeria to streamline supply system of pharmaceutical products from manufacturers to market and population.
He stressed the system when fully activated will infuse coherent system of supply making it difficult for manufacturers of counterfeit drugs to perpetrate Nigeria market.
According to him, “safety of Nigerians and their health well being is very important to the present administration and the drug distribution system is an essential element in proving the safety and efficacy of the medication that the population consume.
‘ I am here at CWC Kano to observe the level of directives being enforced by Pharmaceutical council, and NAFDAC have been put in place to improve the quality of distribution system to safe guard the system from infiteration of substandard, counterfeit medicine, and other illicit substance wrecking huge havoc in the population.
“The public interest is most important to government. We cannot allow people whose sources of supply are questionable to populate the nation with counterfeit drugs causing lost of lives.
” So we are sensitive to the implications of open market business because of the damage. However NPC and NAFDAC will encourage those that ready to comply with the guidelines and provision of the law.
Meanwhile, Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Yusuf Labaran said a committee has been constituted to evaluate the concern of the medicine dealers.
Dr. Labaran added that government was also concern about the high cost of the premises at the new location as part of the complaint adding that government is considering financial support to ease the relocation of the business men.