The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has urged traders to always look out for the FDA’s label on drugs and products they use to be able to detect fake ones. Ms Rebecca Mensah, a member of the Communications FDA, said Ghanaians could also detect fake products through the Med Safety Mobile App and encouraged them to download the app on the various app platforms. The Med Safety Mobile App allows patients, consumers, and healthcare professionals to easily report adverse reactions (side effects) of medicines, vaccines, and other medicinal products to the Authority. Ms Mensah gave the advice during an engagement with traders at the Dodowa market to sensitize them on drug safety to promote reporting on the Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR) and Adverse Effects following Immunization (AEFI). The sensitization programme, which formed part of the regulatory initiatives to improve the detection of adverse reactions to drugs, was conducted in partnership with USAID under the Promoting Quality Medicines Plus (PQM+) project. It featured several activities, including sensitization on medicine safety, and the disclosure on how to use the Med Safety App, and was climaxed with a short drama on medicine safety. Ms Mensah explained that the Authority was faced with a major challenge of under-reporting ADRs, with few people aware of the reporting system. ‘This campaign forms part of efforts to address the challenge,’ she added. She urged the traders to report side effects experienced from taking any medical products to healthcare professionals and using the digital platforms provided to improve medicine quality. Madam Alice Godson, Market Executive at Dodowa Market, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that she appreciated the FDA for the sensitization saying, ‘I have been immensely enlightened on the precautions of drug use. ‘The programme has helped; now I know what to do when I want to buy a drug from a pharmacy and what to do when the drug is affecting my health,’ she said. She urged traders to report any side effects they experience in drugs to assist the FDA in protecting them against fake drugs. Madam Emelia Mensah, a trader, disclosed that she was ignorant about drug safety issues and the reporting system, but the programme had improved her knowledge in that regard. She praised the FDA for such an initiative, saying, ‘We pray they frequently pay us a visit to educate us more often.” The Dodowa sensitization programme marks the end of the nationwide campaign on the Promoting Quality Medicines Plus (PQM+) project.
Source: Ghana News Agency
