OREANDA-NEWS. May 16, 2012. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has pledged to support the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in the agency’s quest to fight drug counterfeiting in Nigeria.

NNPC Group Managing Director (GMD) Engineer Austen Oniwon who made the pledge while receiving the NAFDAC Director General (DG), Dr Paul Orhii at the NNPC Towers, said the Corporation would help acquire "TRUSCAN Machines", -a hand held device used to detect counterfeit medicines.

TRUSCAN, which was first deployed nationally in January 2010, has the capability of detecting fake products within minutes. It has been adjudged to further checkmate the influx of fake products into the country.

“NAFDAC is serving the nation well and your effort is greatly appreciated. We’re ready to support your efforts at ensuring that more of these gadgets are procured and spread across every nook and cranny of this country, especially in the rural areas,” the GMD noted.

The GMD who lauded the NAFDAC DG for his giant strides at saving the lives of Nigerians on daily basis noted that because of the proliferation of pharmacies nationwide, Nigerians have become easy preys to fake drugs manufacturers.

According to the GMD, there was the need for all well-meaning Nigerians to cooperate with NAFDAC in its move to rid the nation of fake drugs. “If Nigerians are to have access to genuine drugs, all of us must support NAFDAC in this regard,” he stated.

The GMD said the corporation prioritized the health and safety of its workforce and that the Corporation’s Medical facilities cater for the health needs of about 50, 000 Nigerians across various locations of the Corporation.

Engineer Oniwon was appointed and decorated as Pharmacovigilante of the agency, an honor that will enable him assist in the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects of fake drugs in the country.

Earlier in his address, the NAFDAC DG, Dr Paul Orhii appreciated the GMD and commended NNPC’s commitment to support the war against counterfeit drugs across the country.

He said because the fake drug manufacturers are getting sophisticated by the day, his Agency had to adopt new, practicable strategies to combat counterfeit medicines across the nation.

He said the TRUSCAN device has helped in no small measure to combat counterfeit drugs, reducing counterfeit medicine from 16.7% to 5% in urban areas nationwide.

Already, the DG said, in an effort to employ a multi-dimensional approach to tackle the issue of counterfeiting of regulated products, NAFDAC was spearheading global efforts in the use of cutting edge technologies.