The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has emphasised the need for the rational use of medicines and strengthened pharmacovigilance systems to enhance patients safety.

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, made this known at a sensitisation programme organised for community stakeholders in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State.

The programme, themed “Rational Use of Medicines: Strengthening Pharmacovigilance for Patient Safety Public Health,” was organised by NAFDAC in partnership with the Immunisation Plus and Malaria by Accelerating Coverage and Transmission (IMPACT).

Mrs Adeyeye, represented by Uchenna Elemuwa, NAFDAC Director of Pharmacovigilance, said the programme was critical in promoting and protecting public health.

She noted that the rational use of medicines remained a fundamental pillar of effective healthcare delivery while warning that inappropriate use of medications could result in serious health consequences.

“Rational use of medicine is when a patient uses a medication appropriately in line with their clinical needs, in the correct doses, for an adequate duration, and at the lowest possible cost to both the patient and the community,” she said.

“Self-medication, misuse of antibiotics, polypharmacy, incorrect dosing, failure to adhere to prescribed treatments, use of counterfeit medicines and sharing medicines among family members pose dangers to public health.

“Rational use of medication is critical and that is why we are strongly against unhealthy practices that contribute significantly to treatment failure, adverse drug reactions, prolonged illness, and preventable deaths,” she said.

Antimicrobial resistance

Mrs Adeyeye added that the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which was one of the greatest threats to global health, emanated from the misuse and overuse of antibiotics.

According to her, pharmacovigilance plays a critical role in addressing these challenges through the detection, assessment, understanding, and prevention of adverse effects and other medicine-related problems.

“No medicine is completely free from side effects,” Mrs Adeyeye said, adding that effective pharmacovigilance systems enabled healthcare professionals and patients to identify harmful reactions early and report them for appropriate regulatory actions.

She said the agency had continued to strengthen post-marketing surveillance, safety monitoring systems, adverse drug reaction reporting mechanisms, risk communication strategies and public sensitisation among others.

Mrs Adeyeye urged the participants, healthcare professionals and members of the public to actively report adverse drug reactions, stressing that “a single adverse drug reaction report can save thousands of lives.”

The NAFDAC boss also called for more collaborative effort to strengthen rational medicine use and pharmacovigilance through continuous education for healthcare workers, public awareness against self-medication and antibiotic misuse among others.

Adverse drug reaction

Adekunle Oreagba, a Professor of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, College of Medicine University of Lagos, emphasised the need for Nigerians to be more aware of adverse drug reaction (ADR).

Mr Oreagba, who is the South-West Coordinator of ADR in the country, spoke on the “Introduction to ADR and Pharmacovigilance, What Every Community Members Should Know”.

He explained that adverse drug reactions were harmful effects that occurred after taking medicines correctly and as prescribed.

The coordinator noted that many people experience unusual symptoms after using medications but often failed to report them, making it difficult for health authorities and regulatory agency to monitor medicine safety.

He added that pharmacovigilance was crucial in understanding, and preventing adverse effects of prescribed medicine, hence the need for people to report any unusual reaction from the use of prescribed drug to health professionals.

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“Reporting adverse drug reactions is essential for protecting public health,” he said.

“The information provided by patients and healthcare professionals helps regulatory authorities to identify medicines with potential safety concerns.

“If adverse drug reactions are not reported, health authorities cannot accurately determine their frequency or impact within the community.”

Mr Oreagba identified the use of multiple medications at once, known as Polypharmacy, as one of the major risk factors of ADR in humans.

He also added that children and older adults were also at risks of ADR because of their vulnerability. He said individuals with kidney and liver health issues are also at risk.

“Little children process medicines differently because their organs are still developing, while older adults, with multiple health conditions, may be taking several medications that increase their susceptibility to adverse reactions,” he said.

The professor advised members of the public to seek medical attention and report symptoms such as fever, diarrhoea, skin rashes, stomach pain, or other unusual discomforts that develop after medication use.

The Chairman of Mushin LGA, Tunbosun Aruwe, commended NAFDAC for educating stakeholders on the various critical health issues that affected the common man.

(NAN)