Posted on: Thu 21-10-2021

The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria has expressed fears over the level at which pharmacists in Nigeria are migrating to Canada, saying it was “dangerous to healthcare.”

The Registrar and Chief Executive of PCN, Elijah Mohammed, raised the alarm in Abuja during the integrated project media roundtable.

The programme was organised by stakeholders including the Nigerian Healthwatch and Society for Family Health.

Mohammed said the ratio of one pharmacist for every 10,000 Nigerians was not enough to cater to the health needs of the populace.

The IntegratE project, co-funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and MSD for mothers was aimed at improving the quality of family planning services delivered by Community Pharmacists and Patent and Proprietary Medicines Vendors in underserved areas of Lagos and Kaduna states.

Mohammed said that due to fewer licensed and practicing pharmacists in-country, the need to employ the service of CPs and PPMVs had become critical.

“The pharmacist population ratio is very low. But we are tackling that apart from the fact that there is also a serious brain drain of pharmacists. Most of them are migrating to Canada. Pharmacists, who should be the healthcare professionals in charge of safe and effective medication use are insufficient to serve the entire country’s population,” he said.

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