The National Association of Nigerian Students has asked the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control to investigate suspected unsafe drugs and food products sold around campuses and prosecute suppliers found culpable.
In an open letter to NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the association called for urgent inspections, random laboratory testing and public warnings to protect students from potentially harmful products.
The letter, signed by NANS Director of Health, Augustine Onovughegor, said reports from campus health centres, teaching hospitals and student communities had raised concerns about the safety of medicines, food, drinks and packaged water consumed by young Nigerians.
NANS cited reports of kidney and liver complications, seizure disorders, gastrointestinal infections, foodborne illnesses and suspected chemical poisoning among young people. It said exposure to substandard medicines, contaminated food and toxic substances could be among the possible causes, but provided no specific case data in the letter to establish the links.
The association criticised what it described as NAFDAC’s inadequate visible response, arguing that resource constraints should not prevent decisive action to protect public health.
“When the regulator is absent, the market becomes a laboratory of harm, and our students become the experimental subjects,” the letter stated.
NANS called for risk-based surveillance in markets around campuses and student residential areas, laboratory tests on products sold there, and the recall of items found to be unsafe. It also urged NAFDAC to prosecute manufacturers and distributors found to be dealing in substandard or falsified products.
The association further asked the agency to work with its health directorate and campus clinics to improve the reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions and foodborne illnesses.
It also sought a public database of registered products, better batch-verification systems and sustained campus campaigns to help students identify counterfeit medicines and unsafe food.
“The blood of Nigerian students is not a statistic. Protect our market. Protect our food. Protect our drugs. Protect our future,” the letter said.
