'Govt reiterates call for TFDA, UDOM to find solution for fake online'

THE Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ummy Mwalimu, has urged both Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) and the Information and- Communication Technology (ICT) department of the University of Dodoma to come up with a system that will enable the tracking of online dealers of fake cosmetics. 

Replying to The Guardian reporter’s question on what measures the ministry was taking against dealers of fake cosmetics whom are using social networks for advertisement of their products, Mwalimu said that they were working to improve the system that would enable tracking of online sellers via the responsible authorities, which she named as TFDA and ICT.

The directives came recently after the inauguration of the Adverse Drug Reactions Online System that aims to deliver information to the public about the effects that may occur to a person after consuming medicines. 

The system allows a patient who has been affected by such medicines to send information directly to TFDA via the internet. She said that the government was posed to ban fake cosmetics.

“It is TFDA’s role to make sure that all fake cosmetics don’t circulate in our communities because they can cause serious effects to consumers’ health. Many women have been affected by fake cosmetics, but they cannot speak out in public because they feel ashamed.

TFDA has to come up with an online system that will enable them to report to the authorities about the effects they suffered from such cosmetics and the person they bought them from so that we can take serious measures against the dealers,” said Mwalimu. 

In another move Mwalimu urged TFDA and the ICT department of Dodoma University to come up with an online system that would enable pregnant women and mothers to get important health information during pregnancy and after delivery.

“I would like to see TFDA and the ICT coming up with another online system that will help pregnant women to receive information about their pregnancy from the first to the ninth month.

The Adverse Drug Reactions Online System is dedicated to delivering information to the public about the effects of medicine after consumption. It will be much better if there will be another online system that will help us solve these problems,” she noted. 

Commenting on the Adverse Drug Reactions Online System, she said it was good but should be improved to the extent of enabling Tanzanians who have mobile phones, but with no internet services, to access the services.

“According to the current Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) data, there are 39 million Tanzanians whom have mobile phones, among them 20 million have mobile phones that have access to the internet. TFDA have to improve this system so that the other 19 million can access the information on effects caused by fake medicines,” Mwalimu said.

Speaking to the TFDA director general Hiiti Sillo, he said they were taking the directives from the minister seriously and considered working efficiently in promoting and protecting public health as their main goal.

“The minister’s wish is a command to us; protecting and ensuring public health is our main target,” said Sillo.

He said that although the analogue reaction system (before the adverse online system) had been in place for 27 years, doctors and citizens were lagging behind at giving information about the effects of medicines.

“TFDA has been receiving an average of 200 and 300 reports per annum on effects of medicines to human being while the target is to receive 9,000 of such information per annum. For example, in 2014/15 and 2015/16 we received a total of 465 reports, which means that only 233 reports are received by TFDA in a year,” Sillo said.

He added that during the pilot project to test the efficiency of the Adverse Drug Reactions Online System that was done between June and August, this year, they received 36 reports about the effects of medicines.

He said that testing of the system’s efficiency was carried out in Dar es Salaam, Manyara, Arusha, Iringa, Tanga, Kagera, Ruvuma, Mwanza, Mtwara and Morogoro regions.