The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has called for more support from security agencies towards curbing the activities of quacks in the medical practice in the country.

NMA President, Dr Francis Faduile, said this on Thursday in Calabar during the opening ceremony of the `Physicians Week 2018’ with the theme `Universal Health Coverage: Leaving No One Behind’.

Faduile explained that in spite of NMA’s effort to eliminate quackery in the medical profession, the perpetrators of the illicit act have continued unabated.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Faduile was represented at the event by Dr Agam Ayuk, the NMA Chairman in Cross River.

He alleged that previous efforts by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to prosecute suspects had been frustrated.

Faduile said that the association has record of cases where some state branches of the NMA uncovered activities of suspected quacks and impersonators but the security agencies failed to intervene.

“Another reason for the inability of the MDCN to tackle medical quackery related practices is the inability of the Federal Government to constitute the council and its sister profession, the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria.

“The NMA, as a custodian of the people’s health, believes that a sector that is not well regulated is prone to quackery and this has debilitating effects on the health of our citizens,’’ he said.

Faduile commended the Cross River Government for establishing the State Health Insurance Act in 2016 and the establishment of the State Health Insurance Agency as well as the Primary Healthcare Development Agency.

He urged the state government to improve on the condition of service for health workers in the state by implementing 100 per cent Consolidate Medical Salary with a view to help the sector in achieving universal health coverage.

Speaking earlier, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Inyang Asibong, disclosed that Cross River was on the verge of achieving universal health coverage through its faithful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Asibong said that her ministry had inaugurated a team to tackle the issue of fake drugs in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, adding that the objective was to eliminate cases of quackery and fake drugs in the state.

She added that the state government was currently building three referral hospitals across the state with a view to meet the health needs of the people. (NAN)