NAFDAC Trains 600 Pharmacists To Strengthen Medicine Regulation Across Nigeria
14th August, 2026 | News
NAFDAC Trains 600 Pharmacists Nationwide to Combat Substandard Drugs
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has enrolled 600 pharmacists from across Nigeria into its newly established Pharmacists Reserve Volunteer Programme, aimed at strengthening medicine regulation and combating substandard and falsified drugs.
According to a statement signed by NAFDAC’s Resident Media Consultant, Sanyo Akintola, the initiative is part of the agency’s renewed efforts to reduce the circulation of substandard and falsified medicines and unwholesome food products while bringing regulatory activities closer to communities.
Speaking while receiving the volunteers, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, urged the pharmacists to serve the country with honour, professionalism and integrity.
Adeyeye explained that the 600 service-ready pharmacists were selected from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, covering Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. She said their selection was based on merit, availability and fair geographical representation.
According to her, the programme goes beyond an internship or temporary attachment, describing it as an investment in the pharmacists and the future of medicine regulation in Nigeria.
The volunteers will be trained in key areas of regulatory practice, including pharmacovigilance, compliance monitoring, quality assurance, data collection, inspection and enforcement, and public sensitisation on the safe and responsible use of medicines.
The NAFDAC boss said the programme is also designed to create a national reserve of trained pharmacists who can be mobilised when public health risks arise, including during product recalls, suspected circulation of falsified medicines and emergencies in hard-to-reach communities.
Adeyeye disclosed that her long-term vision is for every state in Nigeria to have a standing pool of trained, vetted and mobilisable pharmacists who can work alongside NAFDAC state offices.
She said this would help extend NAFDAC’s regulatory presence beyond laboratories and ports of entry to markets, community pharmacies, patent medicine stores and primary healthcare centres across the country.
The Director-General also stressed the importance of integrity among regulators, warning the volunteers against accepting inducements or allowing external pressure to compromise their duties.
She noted that once a regulator can be influenced or bought, the Nigerian public loses an important layer of protection against unsafe and falsified products.
The Coordinator of the NAFDAC Training School, Dr. Tunde Sigbeku, said the programme would focus on building the knowledge and capacity required for effective regulatory work.
He explained that the online training would expose the volunteers to NAFDAC’s operations, including post-market surveillance, pharmacovigilance, antimicrobial resistance prevention, proper use of medicines and veterinary medicines, inspection and enforcement, as well as narcotic and controlled substances regulation.
Sigbeku described volunteering as more than a title, saying it represents a call to responsibility, devotion and determination to serve the nation.
The initiative is expected to strengthen NAFDAC’s capacity to identify and respond to medicine-related risks while improving regulatory coverage and public health protection across Nigeria.