The Acting Eastern Regional Head of the Food and Drugs Authority(FDA), Madam Anita Owusu Kuffour has advised the general public to quickly report issues of unexpected adverse drug reactions to the FDA or health centres and pharmacies where the medicines were supplied.

She said reporting the adverse drug reactions would enable her outfit to assess the safety of the drug products and ensure medicinal products were registered, wholesome and meet the prescribed standards.

“The general public is advised to quickly report adverse effects of drugs that are unexpected and they can report to our offices, clinics, or can use the MED Safety app to report so that we can ensure that all products found on the market are safe for consumption,” she stated.

Madam Kuffour gave the advice during a public engagement organised in Koforidua to educate the general public on the need to report such issues and educate medicine sellers on how to properly handle medicines.

The sensitization was also aimed at enabling the FDA reach out to people in low-income levels of society who patronize such medicinal products and increase their awareness of medicine safety and improve reporting of adverse drug reactions.

Madam Kuffour revealed that over the years, her outfit had engaged in active promotion of public health and safety through effective regulation and the utilization of various communication strategies and tools to create the needed awareness among consumers about the safety of regulated products.

She said during active surveillance of adverse events following immunization (AEFIs) from COVID-19 vaccines in 2021 and 2022 which was implemented with the help of Promoting Quality of Medicines Plus Programme (PQM+), they identified that most issues on AEFIs were reported under active surveillance which was costly and difficult to sustain.

She stated that improving spontaneous reporting would reduce the need for active surveillance and save limited resources, hence the need to encourage the public to report such issues at the clinics, CHPS zones, health centres and her outfit where such reporting was low.

“Some drugs products can get into trade in the country as a result of our porous borders and is the FDA’s duty to make sure products on the market are wholesome, registered and meet the prescribed standard. This will help to retrieve them from the market, hence this education,” she added.

Madam Kuffour advised importers, distributors and whole sellers to make sure that the products offered for sale have been duly registered, adding that the FDA was committed to offering help to register their products and give them the technical know-how to bring the products into law.

She also advised drug sellers to desist from selling drugs in buses and making claims about products that were not approved, and advised them to use appropriate ventures to sell or sell at designated placed. She further advised the general public to desist from buying such drugs.

For his part, a Senior Regulatory Officer at the FDA, Peter Alordji advised medicine sellers to ensure proper handling of products and see to its safety, efficacy, as well as the quality of all medicinal products.

He also charged the public to report immediately symptoms that were unexpected after taking drugs to FDA or supplier of the medicine to ensure proper regulatory action and prevent people from consuming substandard medicines.

From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua