Ekiti govt destroys N15m worth of expired drugs

The Ekiti State Government has destroyed N15m worth of expired drugs, which were withdrawn from public health facilities across the state.

The Ekiti State Governor Dr. Kayode Fayemi has supervised the destruction of expired drugs worth about N15 million withdrawn from all public health facilities across the state.

Fayemi said the destruction became necessary to rid the state of toxic and dangerous substances and to enable his administration commence the transformation of the health sector on a desired, guaranteed quality health care services and delivery.

He noted that getting rid of expired drugs could be achieved by simply discarding the drugs at any dump site and burning them became necessary to ensure that people of doubtful characters do not lay their hands on them to inject them back to the society.

The governor added that water-tight secutity and control measure had been put in place to forestall unpatriotic act.

“The destruction will also ensure that people of doubtful character do not lay their hands on the expired drugs to inject them back to the society”

The governor said the features of expired drugs include diminished effectiveness over time, discoloration or loss of aesthetic value due to prolonged storage and conversion to poisonous substances as a result of chain breakage and cleavage.

The General Manager, Central Medical Stores, Mrs Olabisi Arogundade, said the destruction of expired drugs was last carried out in the state in 2008 and since then, expired drugs generated in all public health facilities were withdrawn and stock-piled at the CMS.