NAN – The National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Tuesday held a forum for amoxicillin dispersible manufacturers on the ways to administer the drug.
Declaring open the forum, the Director-General of the agency, Dr Paul Orhii, said the programme, organised in collaboration with the WHO, was aimed at fostering the appropriate use of the 13 life-saving commodities for women and children to prevent maternal and child death.
“The UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children was set up as part of the programme to save more than 6 million lives by 2015.
“It is aimed at increasing access to the13 life-saving commodities that are under-utilised during pregnancy, childbirth and early childhood, especially under the age of five years.
“NAFDAC also aims at the appropriate use of the 13 life-saving commodities and is determined to make them more widely available in low-income countries to forestall preventable maternal and child death,” he said.
In his speech, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Coordinator, Dr Francis Ohanyido, said that pneumonia was among the highest killers of children in the world.
“Pneumonia is the number one killer of children under five years globally while Nigeria has the highest number in Africa and second in the world behind India.
“Although malaria is still the highest killer of children in the country, the case of pneumonia is second to it.
“Last year alone, out of the 121,000 pneumonia-related deaths recorded globally, Nigeria had 17 per cent of the deaths,” Ohanyido said.
In his remarks, a Kano-based manufacturer, Mr Alex Onyido, commended the organisers for bringing the correct usage of amoxicillin dispersible tablets to the knowledge of Nigerian pharmacists.
The Coordinator of NAFDAC in the South East, Mr Gimba Dauda, assured its partners of its commitment to their needs whenever necessary.
