Stakeholders launch mobile app to track fake antibiotics, boost access to genuine drugs
Stakeholders in the health sector under the Nigeria’s One Health sector have launched a mobile application designed to curb the circulation of fake antibiotics and address shortages of genuine medicines
Stakeholders in the health sector under the Nigeria’s One Health sector have launched a mobile application designed to curb the circulation of fake antibiotics and address shortages of genuine medicines in communities.
The application, Community Access to Effective Antibiotics (COM-WATCH), was unveiled in Abuja as part of efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance in the country.
The initiative is being implemented by Jhpiego in partnership with eHealth Africa, with support from regulators including the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Speaking at the launch, the Project Director of COM-WATCH, Yemisi Ogundare, described antibiotic resistance as a major global public health challenge that continues to undermine treatment outcomes.
Ogundare noted that antimicrobial resistance has affected more than 40 per cent of the global disease burden, underscoring the need for innovative interventions.
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She said: “Today is a remarkable day for us because we are launching the Community Access to Effective Antibiotics Project. Antibiotic resistance continues to be a major public health challenge not only in Nigeria but across the world.”
According to her, the COM-WATCH project emerged after Jhpiego and eHealth Africa secured a competitive grant funded by the Trinity Challenge in the United Kingdom.
She explained that the mobile application enables community members to verify the authenticity of antibiotics before use while also helping health providers monitor drug supplies.
Ogundare said, “Last year, we applied for a grant funded by Trinity Challenge UK. Over 200 applications came from more than 50 countries, and Nigeria won.
“The aim is to get communities to tell us how they are accessing antibiotics and what antibiotics they are using. We developed an application called COM-WATCH.
“The tool allows the mother in the village, the agro-vet farmer and others to confirm whether the antibiotics they have are safe before use.”
She added that the platform also supports patent medicine vendors, agro-vets, community pharmacists and health workers in managing their drug inventory.
According to her, the system can send alerts when medicines are approaching expiry and notify users about potential quality concerns.
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Ogundare further explained that the Android-based application uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to verify drugs by comparing uploaded images with records in the NAFDAC Greenbook.
“When you upload a picture of a drug on the app, it checks it against the NAFDAC Greenbook and confirms whether the medicine is verified or not,” she said.
She noted that the platform would also generate data that could assist regulators in monitoring antibiotic supply chains, identifying expiring medicines and detecting fake drugs circulating in communities.
“This will help agencies such as NAFDAC and the NCDC take informed regulatory actions,” she added.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director of Partnerships and Programmes at eHealth Africa, Dr David Akpan, said the project represents a digital response to the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.
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He said: “This particular project responds to one of the major public health challenges around antimicrobial resistance.
“We worked together with Jhpiego to design a technology solution funded by the Trinity Challenge, and the solution is COM-WATCH.”
Akpan explained that the platform would enable community pharmacies, patent medicine vendors and agro-vet stores to manage their antibiotic stock while verifying the authenticity of medicines.
He added that antibiotics scanned through the system would be validated using data from the NAFDAC Greenbook, while the information generated would provide regulators with critical insights to guide policy decisions on antibiotic use in Nigeria.
