NAFDAC to overhaul its cyber space

National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) would overhaul its cyber space to achieve its operational mandate.

NAFDAC Director-General, Prof Moji Adeyeye, said on Tuesday that the limited internal communication could hamper the agency’s relationship with stakeholders.

According to her, although the agency is not currently experiencing cyber space challenges, it envisages that it will in the future, just like other organisations.

“Any establishment that works on the internet has to be secured; NAFDAC deals with thousands of confidential information of customers, food companies, drug companies and we need to keep them confidential.

“Internally, we have lots of confidential information that we have to keep to ourselves and also internationally we relate with other regulatory agencies.

“If we are exchanging information then it becomes very necessary to keep our data secured; so as a regulatory agency, we have to have good cyber security.

“We deal with a lot of customers and there are some that will forge our certificates and NAFDAC numbers and those are the types of things we need to have control of.

“Once we have a close system that we can monitor ourselves easily, then such challenges will be reduced and we can achieve our mandate with ease,” Adeyeye said.

According to him, when the goal is achieved, it will help to strengthen effective communication internally and internationally with other regulatory stakeholders in the drug administration and control sector.

The director-general said that plans were underway to expand the agency’s web space to create room for video conferencing and relationship with the public to achieve desired goals.

She said that such plans included upgrade of the agency’s laboratories to improve the standard of testing medicines and foods to meet international best practices.

NAFDAC operational mandate includes regulating and controlling importation, exportation, manufacturing, advertisement, distribution, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, bottled water, chemicals and detergents.

NAN