The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has unveiled 600 pharmacists under its Pharmacists Regulatory Volunteers Programme (PRVP) to strengthen drug regulation and public health protection nationwide.
NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday that the pharmacists were drawn from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory following a merit-based selection process.
She urged the volunteers to serve with integrity and resist pressures or inducements that could compromise their regulatory duties.
“Once a regulator is bought, the public loses its protection,” she said.
Adeyeye described the PRVP as an investment in professional development and national regulatory capacity, noting that the volunteers would receive training in medicines regulation, pharmacovigilance, compliance monitoring, quality assurance, data collection, public sensitisation and measures against drug abuse and counterfeit products.
She said the programme would create a national reserve of trained pharmacists who could be mobilised during product recalls, suspected circulation of falsified medicines, public health emergencies and other urgent regulatory situations.
According to her, the initiative would extend NAFDAC’s regulatory presence beyond laboratories and ports of entry to markets, community pharmacies, patent medicine stores and primary healthcare centres.
“Regulation that lives only in the capital cannot protect a nation of more than 200 million people.
“This programme is aimed at taking regulation to the doorstep of the Nigerian people,” she said.
Adeyeye also urged the volunteers to remain disciplined, maintain confidentiality and treat the communities they serve with respect.
She said the volunteers would gain hands-on experience in pharmacovigilance reporting, surveillance, enforcement procedures, risk communication and other regulatory activities. Their services would be documented through certification and letters of service to support their professional development.
The D-G urged NAFDAC directors and state coordinators to mentor and deploy the volunteers effectively to strengthen regulatory activities across the country.
“To our 600 volunteers: you carry today not just a certificate of enrolment, but a pledge to serve with integrity, to represent NAFDAC and your profession with honour.
“You must place the safety of the Nigerian public above every other consideration,” she said.
The Programme Coordinator and Director, Narcotics and Controlled Substances, Dr Momodu Rametu, said the initiative had evolved from an expression of interest into a national pool of 600 pharmacists.
He described the programme as an organised backup system for emergency response and supplemental regulatory support, particularly in post-marketing surveillance, drug-demand reduction campaigns and community-level efforts against unsafe pharmaceutical practices.
The Coordinator, NAFDAC Training School, Dr Tunde Sigbeku, said the volunteers would be trained on NAFDAC operations, post-market surveillance, pharmacovigilance, prevention of antimicrobial resistance, inspection and enforcement, narcotics and controlled substances, drug abuse and other public health issues.
Sigbeku described the initiative as the first time NAFDAC would have a national reserve of personnel supporting efforts against fake, substandard, falsified and dangerous pharmaceutical products across Nigeria.
