Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
A total of 577 premises comprising 96 pharmacies and 481 patent medicine shops have been sealed in Anambra State by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, PCN in continuation of its services aimed at sanitizing the system for better pharmaceutical services delivery
The PCN’s Director, Inspection and Monitoring, Mrs Anthonia Aruya who made this known during the weekend while addressing newsmen after a five-day field inspection services in several parts of the said a total of 779 medicine premises were visited during the period.
Aruya, a fellow of the Pharmacist Council of Nigeria flanked by the PCN State Officer in Anambra, Fechi Njoku and others, said 19 other premises in the state were issued compliance directives while the sealed ones were indicted for various offences ranging from poor handling of controlled substances, sale and dispensing of prescription drugs without the supervision of a pharmacist as well as unhygienic environment and poor documentation in the interest of public safety.
She said the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria as a federal government regulatory agency has been carrying out enforcement activities across the states in fulfillment of its mandate as stated in PCN Act, Cap P17, LFN, 2004 and also in line with the National Drug Distribution Guide of the Federal Government.
“The activities are geared at streamlining the drug distribution value chain to promote safe, effective and quality medicine distribution along registered and currently licensed premises. These are premises where drugs are manufactured , distributed , wholesaled, retailed and warehoused . it also includes pharmacies and the patent proprietary medicine vendors’ shops.
“Pharmacies that opened at will without recourse to the Council cannot be guaranteed to have standards that will maintain the integrity of the products within such facilities,‘’ she said.
Aruya said that the council and other regulatory agencies were working to relocate all open drug markets to coordinated wholesale centres for proper regulation.
The director advised the public to always seek registration status of facilities where they access medicines to safeguard themselves from patronising quacks.
She said that any premises found selling without approval or selling above their scope of operation such as sale and dispensing of ethical products without the presence of superintendent pharmacists or handling of controlled medicines by non pharmacists is operating in violation of the law.
Pic caption : Stephen Esumobi, Director Enforcement, Anthonia Aruya, Director Inspection and Monitoring and Fechi Njoku, Anambra State Officer, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, PCN during a press conference in Awka on the regulatory activities of the agency.