October 10, 2011

NEW YORK – On October 6th, in Manhattan, Dr. Paul Botwev Orhii, Director-General of Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), received Youth for Human Rights Distinguished Leadership Award for his work against counterfeit drugs in his country, and setting an example for the rest of the world on this issue.

Rev. John Carmichael, representing Youth for Human Rights International, said at the Award Luncheon at the Church of Scientology just off Times Square, "When people are cheated of their money and their health, even murdered by the results of fake drugs, they are being deprived of the fundamental Right to Life as laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

At the luncheon, films and documentation reviewed the steps NAFDAC, under Dr. Orhii, has taken to drastically cut the amount of counterfeit drugs and other substandard regulated products. A national task force on this issue ensures efficient use of resources, and new national laws provide for appropriate jail terms for offenders.

Cutting edge technology now allows consumers and enforcement agencies to test drugs on the spot, while agreements negotiated with China and India in particular, have inhibited the shipment of false products from those countries to Nigeria.

"What Dr. Orhii has done is to help defend the Right to Life to tens of millions of people in Nigeria, and by the example he is setting, to others throughout Africa, and around the world," continued Rev. Carmichael.

In accepting the award, Dr. Orhii thanked the staff of NAFDAC for their dedication, and acknowledged Customs enforcement agents at the borders "who risk their lives every day" to prevent imports of substandard controlled substances.

Also present to hand the engraved crystal award to Dr. Orhii was Okoruwa Osagei Nations, Director of Youth for Human Rights in Nigeria. He described the work of the group in human rights education internationally, and said that a special Nigerian edition of their materials had been finalized, and would soon be available in that country. Its website is http://www.youthforhumanrights.org/.

Church of Scientology New York