In Memoriam: Professor Dora Akunyili
Professor Dora Akunyili. Image courtesy of doraakunyilionline.org.
Dr. Akunyili spearheaded Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) transformation into a modern food and drug enforcement agency, and was tireless in her fight against counterfeit medication in Nigeria.
After a two-year battle with cancer, Nigeria’s Professor Dora Akunyili passed away on June 7, 2014, reported the Nigerian Tribune. As Director General of NAFDAC, the Nigerian Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Akunuili pioneered Nigeria’s regulations on substandard and counterfeit food and drugs. As a trained pharmacist, she understood the human costs of counterfeit and substandard medications.
In 2005, she spoke to the BBC about the counterfeit drug problem both globally and in her native country, "Counterfeit drugs are murder. It is the highest form of terrorism against public health because it kills a mass." Fighting counterfeit medications substituted for life savers including anesthesia, antibiotics, antimalarials and insulin, she shut down vast open-air medicine markets and confiscated thousands of fake drugs, reported the BBC. When the counterfeiters fought back by burning down NAFDAC’s offices and shooting her, she did not back down or give up.
Akunyili headed NAFDAC from 2001 until 2008, and was succeeded by Dr. Paul Orhii. She received over 600 awards and recognitions for her industry and public service commitment, reported the Nigerian Vanguard.
Nigeria and the rest of the world have lost a tireless fighter for the safety and health of patients.