The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has launched a project aimed at ensuring the safe disposal of expired and unused medications by members of the public.

The “Take Back Unwanted Medicines” (TBUM) programme will provide outlets where unwanted medicines can be safely disposed of.

The FDA is hopeful the project will (help) to save the public from consuming expired and unused medicines.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the FDA, Delese Mimi Darko, told the media during a launch event in Accra that people usually dispose their medicines by flushing them down the toilet, emptying them in the sink or simply throwing them in the bin because there is no publicly known and easily accessible means of disposing medicines.

She said those methods of disposal pose a challenge to the environment as the unwanted medicines may leach into water bodies and end up in the community water supply system.

She emphasised the need for proper disposal of drugs to significantly reduce its toxic effects on the environment and also prevented them from getting into the hands of people who did not need them.

Mrs Darko further indicated that the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851) had specific provisions in its Section 132, clauses (2) (3) (4), that mandated the FDA to ensure safe disposal of medicines.

She said the FDA, in that direction, will be running the TBUM programme on a pilot basis in the Greater Accra Region with 50 Community Practice Pharmacists before scaling it up to other parts of the country.

“These community pharmacists have been provided with safely located containers/bins where the public can drop their unused or expired medicines for safe disposal,” she said.

Mrs. Darko further noted that the next phase of the programme will be to include pharmacists and over- the-counter medicine shops in others regions.