By Doris Obinna and Henry Uche
The Association of Lady Pharmacists of Nigeria (ALP), an interest group of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), has decried that Nigeria loses over $1 billion to medical tourism (annually).
Speaking at the 15th biennial conference in Lagos, with the theme “Pharmaceutical value chain for optimal utilisation–Where are we?” the keynote speaker, founder/managing director, JNC International, Clare Omatseye, while advocating central drug information system, called for stakeholders to join the National Agency for Food Drugs and Administration Control (NAFDAC), among others, to clear rot from health system.
According to her, no sector can create good health indices, aside from pharmacists: “Economic value of the pharmacy must not be valued below the training given or received. Our mindset must change. Services must be oriented and vacuum must not be created. Nigeria cannot be shortchanged by continuous importation of drugs.
“The COVID-19 actually exposed the rot in our health system coupled with poor infrastructure, poor healthcare delivery where people have to pay from their pockets, which is ravaging the health system; 99 per cent of COVID-19 vaccines are imported.
“Poor insurance coverage, brain drain and others are issues we must tackle. We lost so many pharmacists to Saudi Arabia, India and other countries. Last year, about 5,000 nurses left for the UK alone.
“Our biggest challenge is drug security and, for us to have drug security, we have to build our pharmaceutical industries. Pharmacists must unify their voice by speaking with one voice to say, ‘Yes we can transform the value chain.’
“We have drug distribution challenge. Despite the challenges, we can turn our threats to opportunities.”
She charged the president of PCN to incorporate women in his administration saying, the pharmacists would work with sister associations on collaboration, and synergy.
“We have poor political will to boost manufacturing of drugs and sustainability, I said this because we have five World Health Organisation (WHO) certified good manufacturing practices (GMPs) companies. We could have more, many of them have to borrow at double digits interest rate.
“So we need to incentivised the investment space. That’s why we are pushing for advocacy between us who needs the money while the government provides the intervention money to enable us leapfrog from where we are today to where we need to be tomorrow.”
She condemned the importation of fake/counterfeit drugs, even the act of hawking of drugs is rampant. “It not a matter to joke about. All hands must be on deck to curb this menace, there is a limit to what the government can do.
“We should join NAFDAC and PCN to be the regulator. Regulation is not only for the regulator, they are short of staff and other limitations. It is for everyone. Self-regulation is a responsibility for every one of us. We need a central drug Information system, which shall enable me track every drug that cones in the country. There are a lot we can do going forward.”
She added that the new Act (National Health Insurance Act) passed weeks ago was a huge opportunity for operators and practitioners in the health sector.
“We have always said, there cannot be a health care without a pharmacist. Most of the primary healthcare centres are moribund; hence we are the first point of call as community Pharmacists.
“We are happy that pharmacists are now allowed to give vaccination. That’s a big milestone; howbeit there are a lot to do still. Some pharmacists I interviewed said we’re over-regulated, howbeit regulation is good but it must be done with a high sense and display of humanity,” she advocated.
On her part, the outgoing National Chairman ALPs, Mrs Ebikemi Victoria Ukwu, said: “In ensuring access to safe, effective and quality assured medicines, a comprehensive approach is required across the pharmaceutical value chain.
“The pharmaceutical value chain comprises of seven critical steps from the initial development stage of medicines, to the final appropriate use by patients therefore every arm of pharmacy is expected to play a role and add value to the chain.”
Also, National Secretary, ALPS, said: “We are involved in the fight against drug and substance abuse, public health education/enlightenment, fostering the growth of an encouraging the safety of the girl child and promoting the cultivation and the use of herbs/plants, through its Project 91 and the education of indigent girl-child, a trust fund that will be launched at this conference.
“These activities and more have majorly been sponsored with the little Capitation paid by members, which is barely enough. The 15th biennial conference will be the end of a beautiful era and a beautiful era and the beginning of another beautiful era. It is a beautifully packaged conference and one no one should miss.”