Strong regulation builds trust in mental health care — NAFDAC DG

The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has said that strong and transparent regulation of psychotropic medicines is vital in building public trust and ensuring safe access to mental health care in Nigeria.

Speaking at Vanguard’s 3rd Mental Health Summit, held on Friday at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, Prof. Adeyeye emphasised that mental health care must go hand in hand with strict oversight of controlled substances to prevent abuse and ensure the availability of safe, effective medicines.

“Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stress of life. NAFDAC’s mission goes beyond regulation; it’s about protecting lives,” she said.

Prof. Adeyeye noted that trust plays a crucial role in mental health access, as it determines whether people seek professional help or resort to self-medication and avoidance of care. She said NAFDAC’s regulatory responsibility includes ensuring the safety, monitoring, and control of the importation, manufacture, and distribution of psychotropic medicines, while also preventing the circulation of falsified or substandard drugs that could worsen illness.

“NAFDAC’s regulatory role is to ensure the safety of psychotropic medicines and prevent falsified, substandard medicines that worsen illness. Our focus is the availability of controlled substances for legitimate medical and scientific use,” Prof. Adeyeye explained.

She highlighted that strong regulation builds confidence in the healthcare system, stressing that transparent drug approval processes and effective market surveillance help guarantee that only safe medicines reach the public.

“What NAFDAC has done is to ensure there’s traceability — we can track every narcotic and psychotropic medicine that enters the country. There is serialisation beyond secondary packaging for those we license,” she added.

Prof. Adeyeye warned that poor regulation could lead to drug misuse and unsafe practices, undermining public confidence and worsening mental health outcomes.

She further called for multi-sectoral collaboration to strengthen drug control systems, noting that NAFDAC works closely with the Federal Ministry of Health, psychiatric hospitals, and civil society organisations to implement the National Drug Control Masterplan.

“Collaboration is key across all sectors. This is a multi-sectoral effort — we collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Health, psychiatric hospitals, civil societies, and others,” she said.

Prof. Adeyeye reaffirmed NAFDAC’s commitment to protecting lives through transparent, science-based regulation, ensuring that people in need of mental health treatment have safe and trusted access to psychotropic medicines.

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