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267 CHAPTER 17 SUPPORT,APPRECIATIONSAND RECOGNITIONS FROM THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT, NIGERIANS AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY Support (Localand International) The support we received from the Nigerian Government was immense. Favourable policies that enabled us to launch a successful fight against counterfeit medicines and substandard regulated products were established. The tremendous successes we recorded in the war are attributable in part to the remarkable support from all the Governors of the immediate past and present administrations, who ensured that we were able to implement our policies in their states without any hindrance. They facilitated our tasks by their supportive actions which, in some cases, included banning misleading advertisements of traditional medicines in all the print and electronic media in their states, allocating lands for the proposed Zonal Drug Distribution Centres (ZDDC), construction of new laboratories, and providing office accommodation for us in their various states. Even the wives of prominent government officials were not left out. As a show of solidarity and support for NAFDAC, they always made themselves available and associated with us by attending our enlightenment workshops for stakeholders. They also made other contributions. Every government organisation wanted to align with the vision of NAFDAC to rid our country of counterfeit medicines, in one way or another. Some of these government organisations include the Federal and State Ministries of Health, Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Customs Service, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Nigeria Immigration Services, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian National Shipping Lines (NNSL), National Programme on Immunisation (NPI), National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) andthe Nigerian Judiciary. We also received lots of encouragement from the good people of Nigeria. Nigerians from all walks of life extended unprecedented goodwill to us. Nigerians were very supportive and 268 The War Against Counterfeit Medicine their prayers, expressions of love and encouragement to us, through telephone calls, letters and poems, were very heartwarming and encouraging. As someone once said to me, “It is God’s bribe to you, madam.” It is indeed! Also, a commentator in a national newspaper once wrote, “The NAFDAC Director General is a revolutionary. She has not only changed NAFDAC, she has also changed the pharmaceutical industry in the country.” Foreigners were not left out: notable among them is the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Gozney, who described me as an “angel of change”. Nigerian banks also supported us by ensuring that Letters of Credit are only processed for drug importers after due clearance from NAFDAC. The support we received from the Nigerian press in the war against counterfeit drugs and unwholesome food was overwhelming. They gave adequate coverage to all NAFDAC’s activities and promptly disseminated relevant information to the public. They were indeed our “town crier”. It is common to hear people say that no organisation has ever been so supported by the press as NAFDAC. I believe that this is because the Nigerian press was able to key into our vision. Many world organisations and governments were magnanimous in their support for us. These organisations include: UNICEF, the WHO, PATHS, DFID, USAID, ENHANSE, the IAEA, the EU, the Environmental and Occupational Health Services Institute (EOHSI), Quality Control Services of India (QCS), the Government of India, Indian Professional Forum, Heads of other regulatory authorities, including India’s FDA, China’s FDA, the South African Medicine and Medical Devices Regulatory Authority (SAMMDRA), the USFDA, Indonesia’s FDA and Singapore’s FDA. The Coca-Cola Company donated a Gas Chromatograph and a High Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC) with Auto Analyzer; UNICEF provided 640 field iodide test kits; GlaxoSmithKline donated an HPLC; IAEA donated various equipment, including an HPLC; and there are many others too numerous to list here. UNICEF also assisted with workshops on breast milk substitutes; analysis of micronutrients in fortified foods; and field survey on salt iodisation levels at distribution and retail levels. The donation by Unicredit Group is worthy of special mention. Unicredit Group invited me to present a paper at the Central Eastern Europe Convention in Italy in September 2007. After the convention, the Group asked me what I wanted them to do for me. I requested that they buy vehicles for NAFDAC to assist in our regulatory activities. They accepted and paid about thirty-five [18.117.216.229] Project MUSE (2024-04-26...

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