By Lydia Ngwakwe
Lagos – The African Networks for Drug and Diagnostic Innovation (ANDI), a research centre, has called on NAFDAC to clear Nigerian markets of fake Rapid Diagnostics Test (RDTs) kits for malaria.
Prof. Wellington Oyibo, a Consultant Medical Parasitologist, University of Lagos, Akoka, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.
He described RDTs to look like the urine pregnancy test, an output of science which does not need electricity to work.
“The thing now is that NAFDAC has to do more of regulation so that the wrong RDTs do not find their ways into the Nigerian markets.
“Even as patients and healthcare givers still find it hard to accept these kits, it would not be nice to allow the fake to flood the markets.
“The agency must find a way to ensure that those who want to do business, do so with the right kind of RDTs. There should be no low performing test in our markets.
“For people to believe in this test, we need to do more in terms of ensuring that there is quality assurance, training, funding as well as strong advocacy,’’ Oyibo said.
The ANDI Principal investigator expressed concern about the perception of health workers to the test kits.
He alleged that their perception of the kits had caused most patients not to believe in the efficacy of the kits.
He urged medical facilities across the country to ensure that government policy of `compulsory testing and diagnoses before treating’ were operational.
Oyibo urged doctors to ensure patients that have come to complain of malaria are tested with the RDTs stressing that before the kits got into the markets, they followed due process and are 98 per cent accurate.
According to him, the way Nigerians think is what has made this social disease to still be with us.
Besides, he called for the training of healthcare givers and the strengthening of work ethics.
“When this is done people will have the right attitude to work and proper communication will be given to patients on the need to do a test”.
ANDI Centre of excellence for Malaria Diagnosis is an International Centre for Malaria Microscopy and Malaria Rapid Diagnosis tests quality assurance centre situated at the College of Medicine, LUTH, Idi-Araba.
It provides the platform for Malaria Microscopy quality assurance, Malaria RDT quality assurance through lots of testing with time.
The centre is officially designated as World Health Organisation Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test verification facility.
It is the only facility in Africa so designated to ensure coming from a very strong problem ends that malaria diagnostics test that are used in the country are validated and are quality assured.
ANDI centre also does research on malaria, malaria case management, diagnostics and treatment, and on diagnostic implementation.
The centre has the capacity to as it is to provide valuable research, development and training in the entire West African Sub-region.
The centre has close working collaboration with the National Malaria Control Programme and other Malaria programme implementers such as the Society for Family Health, DFID/Malaria, Consortium/SunMAP and USAID. (NAN)