Medical experts blame NDA over fake drugs inflows

By Anne Mugisa                                                                                                                     

Medical experts and civil society have blamed the rampant inflow of fake medicines into the country on laxity of the National Drugs Authority (NDA) to ensure adherence to standards.

They want the NDA to carry out regular, at times impromptu checks including at the point of entry and impose a 10 year ban on manufactures whose products are found lacking. They complained that currently the NDA just dilly dallies trying to hold private discussions with the errant people.

The experts raised the complaints at the launch of second phase of a multi-stakeholders partnership created to ensure transparency, availability and affordability of medicines to third world populations.

The stakeholders working under the acronym MeTA or Medicines, Transparency Alliance include Governments, pharmaceutical Industries, civil society and the World Health Organisations (WHO).

MeTA seeks to improve information flows on selection, regulation, procurement, sale, distribution and use of medicines in developing countries.

The experts said a lot of drug resistance is witnessed because of the problems of poor medicines.