Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has called for financial support to enable clinical trials on herbal medicines in Nigeria. In an interview on Friday in Lagos, she stressed that the agency’s financial stability is key to its strategic plan, which aims to ensure the safety, quality, and efficacy of herbal products.
She explained that clinical trials are essential for providing scientific evidence of the safety and effectiveness of herbal medicines. This process, she believes, will protect public health while supporting the growth and development of herbal medicine in Nigeria.
Despite the effectiveness of herbal medicines, Prof. Adeyeye noted that NAFDAC cannot approve them for use without conducting clinical trials. She pointed out that the cost of such trials is significant, requiring external financial support from both the government and private institutions to proceed. Without this support, NAFDAC will struggle to carry out necessary trials on herbal drugs that could address Nigeria’s health challenges.
“NAFDAC is one of the few regulatory bodies globally that has a structured approach to approving herbal medicines,” Adeyeye explained. However, she acknowledged that the high cost of clinical trials in Nigeria makes it difficult to evaluate the thousands of herbal products in NAFDAC’s database.
“We don’t know the toxic components or the exact quantities that should be taken, and that is why clinical trials and research are necessary before approving any herbal medicine for public use,” she emphasized.
Despite these hurdles, Prof. Adeyeye remains optimistic and assured the public that NAFDAC will begin conducting clinical trials once grants or funding become available. She mentioned that she has already engaged with the National Assembly, which has promised support for the initiative.
She concluded by emphasizing the importance of starting with clinical trials on a few herbal medicines, stating, “If we can get five herbal medicines in our national formulary, we will have achieved a lot.”