NAFDAC inaugurates 600 pharmacists for National Reserve Volunteer Programme
pannigeriannews
2 min read
By Isaiah Adewole
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has inaugurated 600 qualified pharmacists into its Pharmacists Reserve Volunteer Programme, designed to strengthen the agency’s regulatory reach across Nigeria.
The programme, inaugurated on Thursday, brings together pharmacists selected from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with representation across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, described the initiative as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s regulatory future.
Adeyeye said the programme would help extend NAFDAC’s presence into markets, community pharmacies and primary healthcare centres across the country.
“This Programme is a strategic investment in Nigeria’s regulatory future,” Adeyeye said, stressing the importance of expanding the agency’s capacity to protect public health.
She explained that the initiative would establish a standing national reserve of trained and deployable pharmacists who could be mobilised during product recalls, outbreaks involving falsified medicines and other health emergencies.
According to her, the volunteers would support NAFDAC in areas including pharmacovigilance, compliance monitoring, quality assurance, drug abuse sensitisation and enforcement activities within their respective states.
The Director-General said the volunteers would progress through four stages: onboarding, virtual training, field engagement and ongoing management.
She added that the selection process was transparent and merit-based, ensuring that qualified pharmacists from across the country were given the opportunity to participate.
Adeyeye urged the newly inaugurated volunteers to approach their responsibilities with professionalism and integrity, placing public safety above personal interests.
“I charge you to serve with integrity and to place public safety above all else,” she said.
The programme will also provide participants with hands-on experience in regulatory practice, professional certification and formal letters of service.
NAFDAC said the initiative is expected to strengthen its ability to monitor the safety and quality of medicines and other regulated products at the community level while providing a pool of trained professionals who can be deployed when the need arises.
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