By Destiny Obinna
African pharmaceutical stakeholders have called for continent-wide action against falsified medicines, urging governments, regulators, manufacturers and distributors to strengthen cooperation and close loopholes in medicine supply chains.
They warned that fragmented distribution systems and weak accountability continued to expose patients to unsafe and ineffective medicines, undermining treatment outcomes and public confidence in healthcare.
The call was made at the main conference of the fourth Thematic General Assembly of the African Pharmaceutical Distributors Association (APDA), hosted by the Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Distributors Association of Nigeria (PWDAN) in Lagos on Thursday, October 8.
The meeting brought together pharmaceutical distribution leaders, professional association executives and other stakeholders from English- and French-speaking African countries to explore practical ways of securing medicine supply chains and protecting patients from falsified and substandard products.
Speaking at the event, APDA Vice-President for the Central Region, Dr Yolande Djomo, who represented the association’s President, Dr Lahcen Senhaji, said African countries faced similar challenges in pharmaceutical distribution and needed stronger cooperation to tackle them.
She said the assembly provided an opportunity for stakeholders to share experiences, develop practical solutions and improve the security and resilience of medicine supply chains across the continent.
Djomo said APDA, established in October 2019, had continued to promote dialogue and shared learning among pharmaceutical distribution stakeholders to improve access to quality medicines.
She recalled that previous thematic assemblies held in Dakar, Senegal, in 2022; Kigali, Rwanda, in 2023; and Douala, Cameroon, in 2024, had addressed medicine availability, accessibility, quality and supply-chain challenges.
According to her, the Lagos meeting would build on those discussions to advance practical solutions to the continent’s pharmaceutical distribution challenges.
In his welcome address, PWDAN Chairman, Pharm. Ogheneochuko Omaruaye, said falsified medicines and the criminal networks behind their circulation exploited weaknesses in pharmaceutical supply chains, with serious consequences for treatment outcomes, public confidence and healthcare costs.
He said distributors occupied a critical position between manufacturers and patients and had a responsibility to preserve the quality and integrity of medicines during storage, transportation and delivery.
Omaruaye called for transparent, traceable and accountable supply chains backed by technology, effective regulation and stronger collaboration among manufacturers, distributors, regulators and governments.
He stressed that the goal must go beyond discussions to delivering practical solutions that would make it harder for falsified medicines to enter distribution channels and reach patients.
The keynote address was delivered by Pharm. Remi Adeseun of Advisory Inc on the theme, “Advancing Pharmaceutical Distribution in Africa: Building Secure Supply Chains Against Falsified Medicines.”
The address examined strategies for strengthening supply-chain security while ensuring that quality-assured medicines reached patients through reliable distribution networks.
Chairman of the Occasion, Dr Claire Omatseye, founder and managing director of JNC International Limited and founder of Vaccipharm Limited, said medicine distribution should be treated as a patient-safety system, not merely the movement of products from one location to another.
She said every transfer of a medicine presented an opportunity for stakeholders to preserve its quality and prevent compromise, stressing that falsified medicines were a global threat requiring collective responsibility.
Omatseye called for stronger collaboration among manufacturers, distributors, regulators, customs officials, security agencies and governments, noting that pharmaceutical professionals and regulatory authorities could not tackle the problem in isolation.
The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who attended as guest of honour, also highlighted the importance of regulatory enforcement and collaboration with industry stakeholders in safeguarding medicine quality.
The President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Pharm. Ayuba Tanko, represented by the Society’s National Secretary, Pharm. Gafar Olanrewaju Madehin, emphasised professional accountability, effective regulation and cooperation among distributors, pharmacists and other stakeholders.
Similarly, the National Chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Pharm. Ambrose Ezeh, underscored the importance of secure medicine distribution to community pharmacy practice and patient protection.
In her remarks, Dr Njide Ndili, Country Director of PharmAccess Nigeria and President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN), called for better coordination among private-sector associations, improved quality practices and increased access to financing.
She urged stakeholders to translate the conference discussions into concrete actions capable of strengthening medicine distribution and protecting patients.
A panel session also examined the security and reliability of pharmaceutical distribution across Africa, focusing on stronger collaboration among industry players, regulators and governments and practical measures to close supply-chain gaps exploited by purveyors of falsified medicines.
The three-day assembly featured capacity-building activities and industry engagements before culminating in the main conference and closing programme on Thursday. It provided a platform for pharmaceutical distribution leaders and other stakeholders to exchange experiences and explore ways to strengthen supply-chain integrity across the continent.
