The West African Nations have moved to strengthens Laboratory capacities for better preparedness against epidemic spread in the sub-region.

They made this resolved at the first technical and steering committee meetings of the Strengthening Epidemiological Surveillance and Laboratory System in West Africa (PROALAB), over the weekend in Lagos, Nigeria.

Participants hinted that, it was also important for member-states to stop the practice of waiting for epidemics to happen, but to continually carry out surveillance through the laboratories.

They further called for strengthening of the laboratories in terms of capacity, the work force and quality assurance.

The participants, who included the Director-General of the West African Health Organization (WAHO), Professor Stanley Okolo, believed that the initiative would not only help identify all Infectious diseases, but also identify the nature of viruses involved.

The project, sponsored by the German Development Bank for the West African sub-region, is going on in four west African countries, namely Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and Burkina Faso.

Out of the eleven Laboratories to be supported in the region, five were in Nigeria.

Commenting on the safety concerns and anxiety regarding the COVID-19 vaccines, the WAHO DG, Prof Okolo and the World Health Organization (WHO) senior team leader from Burkina Faso, Dr Olivier Manigart, urged West African countries to disregard unfounded claims from different quarters, but to take advantage of scientific improvement that made the vaccine production possible within a short time.

The objectives of the two-day meetings, which held from 20th-21st May 2021 at the Pearlworth Hotel & Suites, Ikeja, Lagos, were to review and assess the level of implementation of the recommendations of the project kickoff meeting held in Ouagadougou on May 13 and 14, 2019; Assess the level of implementation of the 2019 and 2020 PTBAs and the project’s Procurement Plans (PPM) and; Analyze the activities carried out thanks to the COVID-19 PROALAB Emergency Fund.

Other objectives were to analyze the activities conducted for training around the four major PROALAB themes; Share the major difficulties and bottlenecks encountered in the implementation of the project and propose solutions and; Make proposals for recommendations to be submitted to WAHO General Management and KfW for approval for the 2nd phase of the project.

Among the outcomes expected from this meetings were (i) The level of implementation of the recommendations of the project kick-off meeting held in Ouagadougou on May 13-14, 2019 is reviewed and assessed; (ii) The level of implementation of the 2019 and 2020 PTBAs and the related Procurement Plans (PPM) is assessed; (iii) The activities carried out through the COVID-19 PROALAB Emergency Fund are critiqued and redefined; (iv) Activities conducted for training around the four major PROALAB themes are critiqued and redefined and; (v) Major difficulties and bottlenecks encountered in the implementation of the project are shared and solutions are proposed

Proposed recommendations are submitted to WAHO General Management and KfW for approval for the 2nd phase of the project.

The effective background to the meetings is the fact that the 2014-2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic tragically demonstrated the failure of epidemiological surveillance systems at national and regional levels.

Based on a financing agreement between the German Development Bank (KfW) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), represented by the West African Health Organization (WAHO), as well as a separate agreement between WAHO and KfW, the German government, through KfW, has allocated a budget of 10 million euros for the project entitled “Strengthening of epidemiological services and systems of health in ECOWAS countries” (PROALAB).

The main objective is to better protect the population of the region against epidemic diseases. The project aims to strengthen in ECOWAS the sustainable development of structures and capacities allowing the rapid identification of outbreaks of infectious diseases in the territories of its partner States in order to allow a rapid and effective response to the prevention of an epidemic.

The main objective of the project is to extend the regional epidemiological surveillance system by strengthening the Network of National and Regional Reference Laboratories.

The Foundation Mérieux and the consulting firm GFA signed a consortium agreement as part of this KFW-funded project aimed at supporting 11 national and regional reference laboratories in four countries (Burkina Faso, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria).

This project, which effectively started these activities in September 2018, has made progress in strengthening the structures involved (solar, IT and laboratory equipment’s, renovations) for which procurement processes are at an advanced level.

Training and Technical assistance activities have also been initiated to support laboratories towards accreditation according to ISO 15189. In addition, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, huge adjustments have been made in its implementation and led the KfW to release an emergency fund allocated to support the regional effort to fight against this pandemic for an amount of 5.72 million euros.

It was in this context that the 1st meetings of the Technical and Steering Committees of PROALAB were organized to assess the level of implementation of the project and make recommendations.

The Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye has vowed that the agency would not rest on its oars until the Nigeria markets are rid of unwholesome food, falsified medicines, and dangerous cosmetics.

This, according to her will safeguard the health of Nigerians.

She also commended the collaborative efforts of sister agencies like Standard Organisation of Nigeria SON, NDLEA, DSS amongst others towards the realization of NAFDAC’s mandate of ridding the nation of counterfeit products that are inimical to the health and wellbeing of the Nigerian populace.

Adeyeye made the assertions in Gombe, Gombe State at the North East Zonal destruction exercise of fake, counterfeit, substandard, expired, and unwholesome products by the Investigation and Enforcement (I&E) team of NAFDAC.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by NAFDAC Resident Media Consultant,Sayo Akintola on Sunday quoted Adeyeye as saying that the exercise was in line with one of the Agency’s strategies aimed at eradicating incidences of reintroduction of fake drugs and other seized spurious or and unwholesome NAFDAC regulated products from the Nigeria market.

The products destroyed were made up of substandard and falsified medicines, unwholesome processed food products, unsafe cosmetics and other counterfeit regulated products seized from importers and manufacturers by various NAFDAC establishments in the North-Eastern part of the country.

Also included in the exercise were expired, NADAC regulated products voluntarily handed over to the Agency by complaint companies, including GSK Pharma, Ogba, Lagos and non-governmental organizations within the zone.

NAFDAC DG who was represented by the NAFDAC’s Bauchi State Coordinator, Mrs Dayilim Josephine, said the estimated street value of the products destroyed was N515, 732.587.

The products destroyed included various quantities of medicines such as antibiotics, herbal remedied, psychoactive, and anti-diabetic.

Foods such as Noodles, palm oil, vegetable oil, ogogoro (local Gin) non-alcoholic beverages, sachet water amongst other were parts of the products destroyed.

Cosmetics such as creams, pomade, and chemicals such as fake insecticides, fertilizers were also destroyed. Medical devices such as disposable syringe, I.V given set, and PPE as well as imported falsified packaging materials for counterfeiting various NAFDAC regulated products.

Adeyeye expressed her happiness that the products destroyed could have found their way back to the markets with the resultant consequences.

The exercise commenced with reception of items from the North East zonal states to wit: Gombe, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi and Taraba. A total of 240.15 tons were received from the North East states and additional 40 tons from GSK Pharma were received and destroyed. The heap of items received was doused with fuel and lighted with fire at noon on Saturday.

Similarly , the NAFDAC DG stated that while the country and indeed the world is battling with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important for her to reiterate to the members of the public the presence of counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines in the African continent.

‘’The public must be on the look out for those spurious and counterfeit vaccines and other regulated products’’, she said, adding that NAFDAC on its own part will ensure continuous surveillance of those products ‘’and we shall continue to enforce the regulations governing these products in Nigeria’’.

Adeyeye however, assured the general public of continued NAFDAC collaboration with other agencies and stakeholders in ensuring that the prescribed standards of identity, safety, quality, and efficacy of regulated products are met.

In their goodwill messages delivered by the Gombe State NDLEA Commander, Mrs Sylvia Eqwunwoke, Gombe State Standard Organization of Nigeria SON Coordinator, Mrs James Danlami Yakzum and representatives of the state director of DSS and Commissioner of Police respectively, NAFDAC was commended for its untiring efforts to sanitize the country and rid it of products that could endanger lives of members of the public.

The various agencies however, pledged their unflinching support for NAFDAC in its efforts to safeguard the health of Nigerians.

The formal setting ablaze of the heap of items was jointly performed by representative of NAFDAC DG, Mrs Dayilim Josphine, Gombe State NDLEA Commander, and Gombe State Coordinator of SON, Mrs James Danlami Yakzum amongst others.