National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has taken a significant step in its fight against substandard and falsified drugs by introducing advanced traceability technology in Northwest Nigeria.

Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general, NAFDAC,

This initiative aims to ensure the safety and efficacy of medical products available to the public.

The agency has deployed a traceability system designed to monitor the movement of pharmaceutical products from manufacturers to end-users.

This system enhances transparency in the drug supply chain, making it easier to identify and eliminate substandard and falsified medicines.

One of the key tools introduced is the GreenBook, a digital verification platform that enables consumers and regulatory authorities to authenticate pharmaceutical products in real time.

In addition to the traceability system, NAFDAC has launched the Paediatric Regulation 2024, which focuses on addressing the unique medical needs of children and ensuring that paediatric medicines meet stringent quality and safety standards.

Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general, NAFDAC, emphasised that the introduction of these technologies aligns with the agency’s broader mandate to protect public health. She stated that the five-year traceability implementation plan, in line with the Nigeria Pharmaceutical Traceability Strategy, will enhance supply chain visibility and further strengthen measures against substandard and falsified medical products.

By leveraging these digital solutions, NAFDAC aims to restore public confidence in the pharmaceutical sector, ensuring that Nigerians have access to safe and high-quality medicines.

The initiative also supports the agency’s ongoing commitment to enforcing regulatory compliance and tackling the challenges of counterfeit drugs in the country.

New Horizons, a technology training institute has partnered with additional four universities to train their students in 21st-century-oriented, lucrative international certification-based ICT and project skills.

The universities include Lagos University Teaching Hospital Schools, Hillside University of Science and Technology, Aletheia University, and Ahman Pategi University.

The initiative was a response to the increasing demand for highly qualified graduates who possess both academic excellence and internationally recognized professional IT, e-business, and project management certifications, aimed at addressing the pervasive graduate unemployment syndrome.

The management team of New Horizons, led by the MD/CEO, Mr. Tim Akano, was present at the events. Akano asserted that the four universities had taken a bold step toward making their institutions relevant in the 21st century by embracing the rapid advancements in emerging technologies such as AI, robotics, and machine learning.

He further stated that New Horizons would leverage its 43 years of international experience as a U.S-based organization with 370 centers in 71 countries and 20 years of operations in Nigeria.

With existing partnerships with 25 Nigerian universities, New Horizons aims to ensure that undergraduates are equipped with internationally recognized IT, e-business, and project development skills.

The stakeholders emphasised that the initiative was designed to enhance post-graduation employability and entrepreneurial opportunities for graduates, positioning them to compete on an international level with their counterparts from the U.S., Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world.

Vice-Chancellor of Hillside University of Science and Technology, Oke-Imesi, Ekiti State, Professor Iheayinchukwu Okoro, led other principal officers of the institution to sign the commencement of the training programme with New Horizons on September 23, 2024.

Similarly, at an event hosted by the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of LUTH, Professor Wasiu Lanre Adeyemo, on December 17, 2024, a strategic partnership was established with the school. The principal officers led by the CMD, expressed excitement over this landmark achievement, stating that the collaboration would enhance the institution’s training programmes with ICT, aligning them with global medical developments.

Also, the partnership was launched at Aletheia University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, on October 20, 2024. The principal officers, led by Professor Amos Adeyinka, stated that the collaboration would increase the value of students both before and after graduation by providing entrepreneurial empowerment and preparing the institution for global competition.

According to the latest Kaspersky Managed Detection and Response (MDR) analyst report, government and development industries experienced a significant decrease in the number of high-severity incidents with direct human involvement in 2024, whereas the food, IT, telecom and industrial sectors demonstrated an increase.

The annual Managed Detection and Response (MDR) analyst report provides insights into detected incidents, their nature and their distribution across various industries and geographic regions.

Additionally, it emphasises the most common tactics, techniques and tools used by attackers over the previous year. The data is based on analysis of incidents detected by Kaspersky MDR.

Compared to 2023, the mass media, development and telecoms industries experienced a significant increase in the number of incidents.

However, when examining high-severity incidents – those that feature direct human involvement – the distribution reveals notable differences.

In 2024, the MDR team identified that the majority of high-severity incidents occurred in IT (23%), followed by the government (18%) and industrial sectors (18%).

The report highlights a significant decrease in high-severity incidents within the government and development sectors, while the number of such incidents in the food sector increased.

Additionally, a relatively large rise was observed in the industrial sector, alongside a slight increase in retail, IT and telecoms. Interestingly, despite the mass media sector facing a substantial increase in overall incidents, this trend did not translate into a corresponding rise in high-severity incidents.

This observation shows that many attack attempts were swiftly detected and mitigated, effectively preventing their severity from escalating beyond medium levels.

“In 2024, we revealed a shift in the landscape of cyber threats, with high-severity incidents increasingly concentrated in the food sector, underscoring the necessity for cybersecurity measures in this area.

While the overall number of incidents surged in sectors like telecom and mass media, the resilience demonstrated in swiftly detecting and neutralising potential threats highlights the importance of proactive measures.

As attackers refine their tactics, organisations must adapt by investing in robust cybersecurity solutions that combine advanced technologies with expert oversight,” comments Sergey Soldatov, Head of Security Operations Center at Kaspersky.

To strengthen your company’s protection against sophisticated attacks, deploy robust cybersecurity solutions and hire qualified practitioners to manage them or adopt managed security services such as Managed Detection and Response and Incident Response.

These security services encompass the complete incident management cycle from threat identification to continuous protection and remediation. They assist in safeguarding against evasive cyberattacks, investigating incidents and offering expert support even if a company lacks security workers.