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Over a week after receiving the Madagascan native formulation for the treatment of COVID - 19 , the Presidency has yet to send the samples to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control for testing, Sunday PUNCH can confirm.
A top source told one of our correspondents that the drug , which was delivered to the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd .) , by his Guinea Bissau counterpart , Umarro Embalo, nine days ago had remained in the possession of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha .
The source , who wished to remain anonymous , said with the manner in which things “ are being done , the drug would not be available for testing till June given the Islamic holiday which extends from Sunday to Tuesday . ”
He said, “ We were told that the drug , which was delivered in five cartons , was delivered to the SGF who was supposed to deliver the sample to the Federal Ministry of Health and then NAFDAC for testing.
“ However, as of today , May 23 , 2020 , the sample has not been sent to NAFDAC for testing. I even doubt if the ministry has received it . And work resumes on Wednesday .”
The source lamented the slow pace of work by the Federal Government regarding its response to COVID -19 .
He noted that this was the same manner in which some drugs sent to Nigeria by the West African Health Organisation were delayed by over a month due to bureaucratic processes .
He added , “ In March , WAHO ( West African Health Organisation ) distributed 30 , 500 diagnostic test kits ; 10 ,000 Personal Protective Equipment and 740 , 000 Chloroquine and Azithromycin tablets to be shared by all ECOWAS states, including Nigeria.
“ The drugs were to be certified by NAFDAC before use. However, NAFDAC only received the drugs a month after they had arrived. These delays were caused by government bureaucracy . ”
The source lamented that it might be June before the Madagascan drug could be deployed for scientific analysis , adding that herbal drugs would need a longer testing period than orthodox medicine .
He said NAFDAC would check for animal toxicity , microbial content and others in the drug which might take about 10 days .
“ It could take about 10 days for NAFDAC to test and certify the drugs . So, the Madagascan medicine ought to have been sent on time in anticipation of the testing time but that has not been done ,” he said .
The SGF had , at the daily COVID -19 briefing last Tuesday , said he had received the consignment and it would be sent to the ministry of health .
https://punchng.com/covid-19-eight-days-after-presidency-fails-to-send-madagascars-drug-to-nafdac/
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