Pharmacists under the aegis of Association of Community Pharmacists (ACPN) have called on the National Assembly to expedite action on all pending legislative Bills affecting the pharmaceutical sector in Nigeria.
This was one of the major highlights of the communiqué issued by ACPN at the end of its 45th Annual International Scientific conference signed by the National Chairman, Ambrose Ezeh Igwekamma and National Secretary, Obiageri Ikwu.
The conference themed ‘UNITY 2026: From Local Pharmacy Practice to Global Impact, Managing Complex Healthcare Systems’ was attended by major stakeholders in the pharmaceutical sector, government officials, representatives of health agencies, and leaders of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN); also stressed the need to urgently address issues affecting drug procurement and distribution in the country.
The ACPN proposed the establishment of a National Drug Management Agency to manage the 10 per cent allocation for essential medicines under the Basic National Health Provision Fund. The drug management agency, it said, will be responsible for the coordination of drug procurement in the country through a centralised facility as well as manage the 10 per cent allocation for essential medicines under the Basic National Health Provision Fund.
‘’ACPN called on the National Assembly to firm up and complete legislative action on pending bills in general to produce Acts of Parliament in the listed areas including amendment of the Fake Drug Act to regularise drug distribution, creation of a Federal Drug Management Agency to legalise drug procurement through a central pool, including taking responsibility for the 10 per cent of procurement of essential medicines from the disbursement of the Basic National Healthcare Provision Fund (1 per cent of the consolidated Revenue Fund of the country) rather than continuing to hand over the commonwealth of Nigeria to private profiteers in unsustainable methodologies.’’
It also called for the establishment of a National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy to train specialist pharmacists locally, reduce dependence on overseas training and conserve foreign exchange.
The association advised the National Assembly to stop further listing of amendment health bills in respect of 14 professional councils and NAFDAC, as the proposed amendments serve no fundamental justifications that will advance public interest and health; while it commended the Senate Committee on Health for the expeditious handling of the Public Hearing on the NHFRA bill, which was overwhelmingly rejected by a wide spectrum range of stakeholders including the Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Justice, PSN and JOHESU.
ACPN expressed deep concern over the unending brain drain in the pharmaceutical sector, revealing that over 9,000 pharmacists immigrated to other countries in the last two years, the communiqué partly read.
Drawing the attention of the government to the disturbing phenomenon, ACPN said it is already affecting healthcare delivery in the country and the sustainability of the pharmaceutical sector of the economy.
It attributed the exodus to ‘’poor reward system in both public and private sectors, poor service and practice environment dictated by unwieldy drug distribution channels, and declining academic workforce personnel to sustain the future of pharmacy practice’’ as it called for urgent government intervention to reverse the exodus and strengthen the country’s pharmaceutical workforce.
The association reiterated the need for the Nigerian health system to utilise the strategic structuring of Community Pharmacies to provide PHC services through access to essential medicines and management of uncomplicated disease states, thus reducing pressure on secondary and tertiary facilities.
It also stressed the need for the integration of Community Pharmacies into PHC through supporting policy and regulatory reforms and sustainable financing as important to achieving universal health coverage (UHC) in Nigeria, declaring that healthcare can no longer exist in isolation and its success in making can increasingly be determined by the “quality of governance, strength of institutions, the resilience of supply chains, effectiveness of public policy, application of technology, sustainability of finance and the ability of government at all levels to build partnerships across sectors.’’
ACPN said that “the greatest breakthroughs in healthcare would not come solely from scientific discovery but from leaders and institutions that can successfully navigate complexity while focused on improving the lives of consumers of health.’’
It proposed innovations that would allow pharmacy-based clinics to provide counselling and advocacy on malaria, antenatal care, family planning, smoking cessation and the use of nutraceuticals.
The professional body also reminded its members they were an untapped access point because they are everywhere and open when patients need care, which makes ‘’Community Pharmacies a trusted, low-cost first contact.’’
Continuing, ACPN directed community pharmacies to commence proper documentation and generate data that can drive evidence-based advocacy, and advised them to ‘’embrace better human relationship management portfolios, including striving to be in positions of power, became part of policy development meetings.’’
The association encouraged members to shun apathy to politics and join the political evolution in the country by participating actively at all of its value chains.
On drug stocking and control, the association called for broad-spectrum regulatory activities to cover the pharmaceutical space, including private hospital pharmacies which gained notoriety for dispensing and stocking all categories of drugs in gross violation of the PCN, NAFDAC and NDLEA Acts.