TFA Demands Emergency on Fake Drugs Killing Nigerians

Tilova For Africa (TFA), a US-based non-profit and advocacy group, has issued a scathing indictment of Nigeria’s porous drug supply chain, demanding an immediate national emergency to halt the “evil act” of fake, adulterated, and expired medicines that are killing citizens and fueling a public health catastrophe.In a statement released on Wednesday, TFA co-founder and pharmacist Martin Nwabueze warned that counterfeit drugs often containing chalk, cotton wool, or trace amounts of active ingredients are directly responsible for the explosion of hypertension-related strokes, kidney failure, liver disease, heart failure, and antibiotic resistance sweeping the country.“Enough is enough. Our people are swallowing poison disguised as medicine and dying in silence,” Nwabueze declared. “When a patient takes fake antihypertensive tablets, their blood pressure spikes uncontrollably. Over time, they suffer stroke, organ collapse, and death—all because criminals filled capsules with trash.”The group’s alarm echoes a damning 2024 admission by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), which revealed that 70% of drugs circulating in Nigeria are substandard or outright counterfeit. The majority, TFA says, are smuggled in from India, China, Pakistan, Egypt, and Indonesia—while a growing number are manufactured locally by rogue operators.TFA is calling for a multi-pronged assault:NAFDAC must forge bilateral crackdowns with drug regulators in the five source countries to block exports at the port of origin. The Federal Government should declare a state of emergency on fake drugs, mobilizing military and customs forces to seal borders. Hospitals, pharmacies, and patent medicine vendors must be audited with random batch testing and whistleblower incentives. Public awareness campaigns to teach citizens how to spot fakes identical packaging, bitter taste from minimal active ingredients, or suspiciously low prices. Nwabueze exposed the sophistication of the fraud: “Counterfeiters replicate vials, labels, holograms everything. Even hospitals inject fake saline or antibiotics because they’ve been deceived. "Patients develop resistance to genuine drugs after years of ingesting under-dosed fakes. A malaria tablet with 50mg of chloroquine instead of 200mg doesn’t cure it breeds superbugs.”The human toll is staggering. Treatment failures, deformities, and preventable deaths erode trust in healthcare, while legitimate manufacturers lose billions in revenue. TFA warns that without drastic action, Nigeria risks a full-blown public health collapse.NAFDAC Director-General Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye has acknowledged the crisis in past briefings, vowing stricter port inspections and mobile authentication services. However, TFA insists rhetoric is not enough: “Declare war. Seize shipments. Jail kingpins. Save lives.”

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