The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has categorically dismissed reports suggesting a covert ban on the antibiotic Amoxicillin in Nigeria.
In a statement issued on its social media platforms on Monday, February 9, NAFDAC asserted that such claims are completely unfounded. The agency elaborated that while it does issue safety alerts and recalls for certain substandard or affected drug batches, there is no comprehensive prohibition on Amoxicillin.
"NAFDAC has not banned Amoxicillin in Nigeria, either secretly or openly. As a responsible regulatory authority, the Agency publicly notifies Nigerians of any regulatory actions through official channels," the statement indicated.
Furthermore, NAFDAC emphasized that its safety communications—such as recalls, warnings, and lists of banned products—are directed at specific items, detailing particular product names, batch numbers, manufacturers, and the necessary actions to safeguard patients as well as healthcare professionals. The blacklisting process, where applicable, targets companies due to safety issues, regulatory breaches, or unethical conduct, not entire classes of medications.
The agency mentioned previous targeted alerts concerning particular Amoxicillin products: In August 2025, Public Alert No. 24/2025 announced a recall of Amoxivue 500mg capsules because of insufficient active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) content.
Additionally, in October 2025, Public Alerts Nos. 34 and 35 highlighted substandard batches of Astamocil, Astamentin, Annmox, and Jawamox suspensions.
"These measures pertain only to specified products and do not amount to a ban on Amoxicillin," the agency reiterated, encouraging the public, health professionals, and all stakeholders to depend exclusively on authenticated updates from official NAFDAC sources.
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