The Zamfara State Government has announced a renewed push to stop the illegal sale and street hawking of medicines, warning that the practice poses a serious danger to residents and could undo recent investments in healthcare delivery.
At a stakeholders’ meeting in Gusau focused on regulation and enforcement, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Nafisa Muhammad Maradun, outlined the government’s concerns. Represented by Permanent Secretary Alhaji Rilwanu Musa Zurmi, she said that improved health infrastructure could be rendered useless if people continue to buy fake or substandard drugs.
“Our infrastructure has been developed, but the major challenge is that after all these investments in the health sector, a client may end up with fake medicine, and that is a great challenge in our state,” Maradun said.
The commissioner stressed that unregulated drug hawking can lead to wrong dosages, misuse of antibiotics, antimicrobial resistance and failed treatments. She explained that the state’s plan includes stricter oversight of the pharmaceutical supply chain, public awareness campaigns, and stronger enforcement against illegal sellers.
The Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Pharmacist Mas’ud Isah, noted that current laws already forbid the street sale and unauthorised distribution of medicines. He pointed to the mandates of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other agencies, urging all parties to ensure those regulations are properly enforced.
Isah called for better intelligence sharing among regulators, security agencies, traditional leaders and market groups to track down offenders. He clarified that the initiative is not meant to punish legitimate pharmacy businesses but to shield the public from fake, expired, adulterated or poorly stored medicines.
The meeting brought together officials from the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, NAFDAC, the National Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers, the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, the police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, religious and traditional institutions, and labour unions.
Participants voiced support for the government’s plan and underlined the need for collective action to safeguard residents and strengthen compliance with medicine handling and sales rules.
The state government’s push marks a significant step toward cleaning up the pharmaceutical landscape in Zamfara, with stakeholders agreeing that coordinated enforcement and public education are essential to reduce the circulation of unsafe medicines.
