Nigeria's drug regulators face terror attacks

Local offices of Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control have been vandalized or subjected to arson attacks and its Director General, Dora Akunyili, has survived an assassination attempt from pharmaceutical counterfeiters, during her six years in charge. Since a 2003 kidnap attempt on one of Mrs Akunyili's sons, much of her family has emigrated to the USA.

The NAFDAC's Director General since 2001, Mrs Akunyili is credited by many with reducing the fake drug problem in Nigeria. The UK's Guardian newspaper quoted a colleague at the World Health Organization as saying: "if the African continent were full of Doras, it would be easy to get rid of counterfeits." According to the Nigerian agency's figures, 41% of all drugs on the market in 2001 were estimated to be counterfeit copies. Last year, the rate was believed to have plunged to 16.7%, according to a survey of 600 drug samples taken across the country (Marketletter June 18).

The enforcement efforts of the NAFDAC have included 110 destruction exercises totaling fake drugs valued at $150.0 million and 45 convictions for trafficking since 2001.