NAFDAC Orders Stoppage of Medicines Supply to Sabon Gari Market, Kano

By: Modupe Adeniyi. Freelance Health Reporter

Map of Nigeria showing Kano (Kano State), one of several locations where open drug markets still exist. Click on image to enlarge.

Lagos. February 24, 2024. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) have jointly issued a stern warning urging all manufacturers, importers, company representatives and distributors to immediately cease supplying pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other regulated medical products to facilities or companies located in Niger Street, Sabon Gari Market or any location outside the Coordinated Wholesale Centre in Dangwauro, Kano State.

This urgent call to action was made in a circular issued by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control following the recent judgment by the Court of Appeal, which directed medicine dealers in Kano to vacate Niger Street/Sabon Gari Market and relocate to the Coordinated Wholesale Centre at Dangwauro, Kano.

In an urgent circular, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), issued a stern warning to stakeholders stating that “All stakeholders must immediately cease supplying any regulated products to facilities or dealers operating outside the approved Coordinated Wholesale Centre at Dangwauro. This is essential to establish a tightly controlled pharmaceutical distribution environment that prevents substandard and counterfeit medicines from entering the market. Failure to comply carries grave consequences. Any company found in breach faces punitive measures that could cripple their operations. Violations will lead to severe disciplinary action including the revocation of site and product licenses, stripping them of the ability to manufacture or distribute”.

This concise, hard-hitting statement makes NAFDAC's position crystal clear.

NAFDAC emphasised that its directive extends beyond manufacturers and distributors as all entities in the pharmaceutical supply chain, including retailers and hospitals, must comply to maintain regulatory standards and contribute to a safe, reliable distribution network in Kano.

The Kano Sabo-Gari market is one of several notable open drug markets in Nigeria through which substandard and falsified drugs enter the legitimate drug supply chain. Others include that in Idumota, Lagos, (Lagos State), the Ariara Market, Aba (Abia State), and the Mile 1 and Mile 3 markets in Port Harcourt (Rivers State).

Learn more here about the prevalence and economic burden of substandard and falsified medicines in low and middle income countries

Published: February 24, 2024

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