By Lexi Elo
As a way of restating its commitment to helping people do more, feel better and live longer, GSK Consumer Nigeria Plc has once again demonstrated its strong resolve to fight product counterfeiting and help Nigerians especially at the grassroots with access to original products.
Speaking at the training programme organised annually in partnership with GSK and the Pharmacist Council of Nigeria (PCN) to train and improve the practice of Patent Medicine Dealers and Patent Medicine Sellers in Nigeria, the Managing Director, GSK Consumer Nigeria Plc, Mr. Dayanand Thandalam Sriram, said the reason for the programme is to engage with the Pharmacist Council of Nigeria and Lagos State Medicine Dealers Association because they are the ones who interact with the consumers every day.
According to him, there is a need to constantly get feedback from these Patent medicine dealers and sellers on what is working and the things that require further improvement. All GSK products are backed by research and science hence the more they understand this science the better they can attend to consumer needs adequately.
He added that, counterfeit products are harmful to people’s health and should be discouraged. If Nigerians can tackle product counterfeiting, it will reduce the high death associated with the administration of fake medications.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
Also speaking at the event, President, Lagos State Medicine Dealers Association (LSMDA), Chief Kewiwson Emeka Opara, said it was disheartening to note that people abuse pain-killers and other over the counter drugs.
While commenting on the proliferation of counterfeit products in the market, Opara lamented that; “Most people venture into medicine vending just for the profit with no consideration for people’s health. Nigerians don’t care about the risk of consuming counterfeit products. Most times, they don’t care about the harmful or side effects it may have on the patients.”
According to the Marketing Manager, Wellness, GSK, Mr. Ogbemi Kesiena, “GSK in partnership with the PCN and LSMDA aims to add value to the practice of the Patent Medicine Sellers and vendors in different zones across Nigeria and to also educate them on drugs and medications so that they fully understand the science behind the drugs they administer to consumers.” Also as responsible partners, we need to ensure the right things are done in terms of laws and regulations that govern the use of these drugs in Nigeria, hence the need for a programme like this to enable us educate and enlighten them, he added.