NAFDAC and OAU join £3.7M Oxford project to detect fake vaccines in Nigeria
NAFDAC and Obafemi Awolowo University have joined a £3.7 million international research project led by the University of Oxford to develop technologies that detect substandard, degraded and falsified vaccines in supply chains. Funded by the UK Medical Research Council, the three‑year initiative also includes the UK MHRA, University of East London, Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Thailand and other global partners. It builds on the Vaccine Identity Evaluation Consortium formed during COVID‑19 and will be implemented in Nigeria by NAFDAC, which will strengthen vaccine quality surveillance, test innovative screening tools in real‑world distribution conditions and use the results to guide evidence‑based regulatory decisions.
The project matters because the World Health Organization estimates that one in ten medicines in low‑ and middle‑income countries is substandard or falsified, costing countries about $30.5 billion each year. Nigeria spends roughly $150 million annually on vaccine purchases while expanding malaria vaccination to more states, making vaccine integrity a major public‑health and financial concern. NAFDAC’s recent enforcement actions highlight the problem: in February it seized over ten million doses of fake malaria medicines and cosmetics worth about ₦3 billion at Lagos’ Trade Fair Market, in March it destroyed counterfeit drugs valued at over ₦939 million in Awka, Anambra, and it warned the public about falsified Dostinex 0.5 mg tablets. Better verification tools could protect these expenditures and boost confidence in immunisation programmes.
What you should know: the research will refine and field‑test detection methods under conditions that mirror Nigeria’s vaccine supply chain, with results expected to support national immunisation efforts and reduce the circulation of fake vaccines. While no immediate action is required from the public, staying alert to NAFDAC alerts and purchasing vaccines from authorised sources can help reduce exposure to substandard products. How might improved vaccine verification change your confidence in vaccination programmes, and what steps would you take to verify a vaccine’s authenticity before use?