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TMDA warns suppliers against selling expired drugs, medical equipment

THE Tanzania MEDICAL and Drugs Authority (TMDA) has warned suppliers against selling drugs, medical devices and reagents after their expiration dates.

TMDA Drug and Medical Equipment Registration Officer Mr Haninu Salum, told reporters here this week that some dishonest suppliers were mislabelling medicines, medical devices and reagents to change their expiry dates. Mr Salum explained that so far, TMDA and stakeholders have netted some medical suppliers who engage in such illegal practice.

“TMDA was keeping on monitoring, investigating and arresting such reported and unreported perpetrators,” he said, explaining that changing labels on medicines, medical devices and reagents makes people use expired products that are hazardous to their health. “It is a serious legal offence to change the information on the medical product that has reached the market, because only the manufacturer has the right to change the information of the product. “Nobody has the right to change the information on the medical device, medicine or reagent, this is a criminal offence for the law enforcement officer even if the product is about to expire,” he stressed.

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Mr Salum urged the community to create a culture of checking information on the drugs, medical devices and reagents, before using them and when they find out that they have been changed or tampered with, then they should inform the authority.

“We at TMDA will take appropriate action against the one who changed the information on the particular product. The effects of using reagents that have expired may lead someone to get wrong results, especially for disease testing reagents or kits,” he pointed out.

The physician in charge of the Geita Town council hospital, Dr Thomas Mafuru admitted that the ongoing education provided by TMDA will help healthcare workers to provide the right services using the right medical equipment.

Assistant nurse at Geita Town council hospital, Mr Robert Mchora admitted that the challenge of using expired drugs and medical equipment leads to citizens not getting the right treatment for their problem.