In a related development, at least 63 per cent of alcohol-based hand sanitisers sold in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are fake and could not protect residents against COVID-19, a federal government survey has shown.
The survey also showed that 50 per cent of the hand sanitisers circulating in the capital territory do not have the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) registration numbers.
According to the document, tagged: ‘Quality Assessment of Some Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitisers Circulating in FCT’ and dated May 13, 2020, which was obtained yesterday by THISDAY from a source at the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) had last week underwent a quality assessment of 30 different brands of alcohol-based hand sanitisers within Abuja to ascertain their efficacy in killing the virus that causes COVID-19.
The result, however, showed that although many residents of the capital territory use hand sanitisers, 63 per cent of such products could not stop them from contracting the highly contagious disease.
The document reads in part: “Of the 30 different brands of alcohol based hand sanitisers assessed, 19 (63.33 per cent) contain less than 60 per cent alcohol; 23 out of the 30 samples, representing 76.67 per cent, failed to meet pH criterion for topical products.
“15 of the 30 brands of alcohol-based hand sanitisers in Abuja, representing 50 per cent, do not have NAFDAC registration numbers. Eight of the samples (26.67 per cent) were without manufacturing and expiration dates. The alcohol content of some of the samples was not stated in their labels.
“67 per cent of the samples were locally manufactured; three per cent from England and Canada each, while 27 per cent had no manufacturers’ address,” the survey revealed.
According to the document, NIPRD recommended to the federal government to conduct a more robust study across the country, as this would help in halting preventable spread of the virus among Nigerians.
“NAFDAC should step up efforts to clamp down on manufacturers of unregistered hand sanitisers,” the report added.
