THE Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN, yesterday, expressed concerns over the Federal Government’s plans to introduce new regulations for healthcare facilities in Nigeria saying the proposed reforms are unnecessary and could be counterproductive.
The ACPN, in a statement by its Chairman and Secretary, Messrs Ambrose Eze and Omokhafe Ashore respectively, argued that the existing National Health Act of 2014, if fully implemented, could effectively address the problem of unregulated and substandard healthcare facilities.
The Pharmacists said: “We share the enthusiasm of the Health Minister to deal with the menace of unregulated and substandard health facilities, but respectfully submit that this must be done in tandem with existing Acts of Parliament and logically the 1999 Constitution.
“Presently, there are a plethora of health statutes including the National Health Act 2014 which are not activated for the benefit of consumers of health. The other leg of the menace of substandard health facilities has to do with the extremely wretched funding of the existing regulatory agencies in healthcare. Only recently an inexperienced and ill-tempered former Director General of the Budget Office almost destabilized the health sector by removing the 15 professional regulatory councils from the Appropriation Act of the Federal Government. It took the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Health to convince the Presidency and National Assembly of the unwholesome consequences of such moves before it was reversed.”
On the Federal Government’s proposal to establish a new National Health Regulatory facility, the Pharmacists said it would be wasteful and inefficient.
The body stated: “The Federal Government must exercise discretion as it cannot continue to approbate and reprobate. In one swoop the Federal Government says it does not have money to cater for existing regulatory councils and in another vein it is contemplating setting up a new National Health Regulatory facility “which shall regulate across the country.”
SOURCE: VANGUARD NEWSPAPER
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