The importation of unregistered, substandard drugs and food products has been a major challenge in Ethiopia for long. Though not fully successful, various efforts have been conducted integrated inspection on the medicines, medical tools and food supplement to ensure the public safety. The responsibility, in particular, is given to the Ethiopian Food, Medicine and Healthcare Administration and Control Authority (EFMHACA). The Authority has been striving to improve and assure the quality, safety and effectiveness of health commodities that manufactured within the country and imported from abroad.
Recently, EFMHACA in collaboration with Ethiopian Revenue Commission and Federal Police Commission has disclosed that within the first six month of the budget year, it has sized over 30 kinds of illegal and substandard medicines and food products which were to enter the country through Bole International Airport.
Hayalsew Melesse, EFMHACA, Central Ethiopia Branch Office Head the barred medicines are used for several purposes including cancer treatment, sexual purposes and growing hair.
As to him, the drugs were trafficked by passengers and have been advertised on social media and circulated to the desired public through illegal agents.
This makes the inspection process complex; hence the public need to be aware of the issue and should not be misled by adverts on the social media.
No government authority has authorized the standard and effectiveness of the medicines. In addition, such drugs have to be used only after they are prescribed by a physician.
All in all, the Authority has banned over 686 tones of foods and food staffs, 686 liters of edible oil, medicines and medical equipments that are worth over 1.18 million birr at entry and exit checkpoints.
Gezahegn Endale, Medical Facility Inspection Directorate Director, for his part remarked that the Authority has banned about 13 kinds of falsified medicine at Alata Cheku, estimated to be worth 2.33 million birr. These falsified drugs have negative impact on patients’ health and safety, and it might even lead to loss of lives.
These medicines and foods were banned because not only their producers were unidentified legally, and their business is unregistered and unlicensed, but also because they would bring rigorous health problems to the public at large. The medicines and foods do not have guarantee about their quality and safety by the Authority, he added.
According to Gezahegn, the Authority also seized 13 illegal foods and food supplements which were used by sportsmen, and being sold in sportswear shop in Akaki Kaliti Sub-city. The products were distributed in the forms of penicillin and powder. These products were unproven and unaccredited by the Authority. Therefore, the Authority has barred the selling of these supplements.
Samson Abraham, the Authority’s Public Relations and Communication Director, added that the Authority is making random and deliberate inspection on drug and food manufacturing industries in order to keep the quality of the product, and prove the safety of the medicines.
During the inspection, an unrecognized and hackneyed product of Colgate and hydrogen peroxide was found in Addis Ababa. The producers were arrested and brought before court, he explained.
It is not only through the lone work of the inspection authority that we can guarantee complete avoidance of illegal, substandard and falsified drugs. Guaranteeing is the collective task of all stakeholders and the society at all, he elaborates.
The Authority believe that for achieving secured and quality drugs in the country, the society should show their willingness by buying their medicine from the legal medical institute with the right paperwork.
And also the medical institute should have developed self inspecting and internal auditing trends about the manufactured drug quality and its right function, Samson added.
The Ethiopian Herald February 14 /2019
BY MULATU BELACHEW
