Posted on: Mon 06-05-2019

May 2, 2019

 

His Excellency

President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR

Aso Rock Villa

Abuja.

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI ON THE NEED TO GIVE ASSENT TO THE PENDING PHARMACY COUNCIL OF NIGERIA BILL 2017

The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has continued to evaluate recent public health concerns with regards to the increasing challenges of drug abuse and misuse in Nigeria. This development obviously further complicates the perennial woes of fake as well as falsified drugs in our nation and naturally should bother all promoters of Good Pharmacy Practice in Nigeria.  We as part of a global community will continue to collaborate and strategize along the lines of global best practices particularly with alliance partners inducing international Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), World Health Organization (WHO), African Pharmaceutical Forum (APF) end the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP) to clamor for standards and ideals which will ultimately boost consumerism as well as professionalism in Nigeria. For emphasis this bill should be assented to for the reflected reasons which include:

1. The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) Bill 2017 is very consistent with similar laws in the Commonwealth League of Nations, where regulatory laws and statutes have become very sacred in keeping pace with the norms and ethos of public health. Examples of such pharmacy regulatory laws in some Commonwealth nations include; General Pharmaceutical Council of Great Britain, Pharmacy Council of Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa. Others are National Association of Boards of Pharmacy in United States of America (a wholly Government owned pharmacy regulatory body) and Pharmacy Council of Canada among others. It is a statement of fact that many less endowed African nations have today polished their pharmacy laws to meet global best practices such that the terminal consequences of poor statutes, weak enforcement and so on which engender easy access to drugs to promote the vicious cycle of drug abuse and misuse, falsified drug syndrome etc are gradually being eliminated in these climes. This is the same purpose the new Pharmacy Council Bill is intended to achieve.
2. One of the philosophies of the National Drug Policy 2005 is to guarantee that Nigerians have access to safe, efficacious and affordable medicines. This is a cardinal responsibility of every Government to Its citizenry. One of the major benefit packages of PCN bill is that it opens a unique window of competence driven service rendition at all levels The new Satellite Pharmacy concept gives us the prospect; of additional pharmaceutical premises in hundreds of thousand range manned by registered pharmacist The Bill provides that any pharmacist who has over ten (10) year post -qualification experience can own a satellite pharmacy not withstanding his primary practice option. What this does is that professional service points in pharmacy will increase from about five thousand (5,000) we currently have to over one hundred thousand (100,000) in Nigeria. These satellite Pharmacies in turn have mandate to provide oversight in a manner of hub and spoke model over the Patent and Proprietary Medicines Vendors thereby improving their regulation. The enforcement of sales of medicines in only registered pharmacies and patent medicines stores by the PCN is the only way to permanently redress the menace of drug abuse and falsified drug syndrome in Nigeria. This has been prescribed by the Poison and Pharmacy Act.
3. The PCN Bill 2017 clearly prohibits sale of drugs in unauthorized Places such as open drug market, this in essence is in tandem with the National Drug Distribution Guidelines (NDDG) which is the official Government tool structured to impose decorum in the unwieldy drug distribution channels which Nigeria currently contends with. Today as It sands Government moves to replace the unlawful open market structures with Coordinated Wholesale Centers (CWC) need to be grounded in lawful templates which the PCN bill guarantees. The responsibilities of the critical stakeholders and in particular our regulators like PCN, NAFDAC, NDLEA as well as police will automatically be enhanced once all the necessary reforms are formalized.
4. Pharmacy Laws are laced with very substantial antiquity because the first Pharmacy Ordinance was enacted in 1887. This has been tinkered with severally through a series of metamorphosis in evolving Acts till the modern-day variant like the PCN Cap 17 LFN 2004 and the PPA Cap 535 LFN 1990. The consequences of these acts of  negligence remains the vulnerability of the PCN and Federal Government and the Honorable Minister of Health to unending litigations which reduces the efficiency of the PCN in carrying out its statutory mandate.
5. The PCN bill question has also removed all ambiguities with regards to offences and relevant commensurate sanctions applicable to all players. This is particularly significant because owners of unregistered premises, those who sell products they are not legally Iicensed to sell and those who violate the condition precedence attached to their licensure will better appreciate the consequences of their unlawful endeavors and acts.
6. Flowing directly from above, the PCN bill particularly compels PHARMACISTS to show more responsibility in their professional practice. The need for discipline is showcased at greater heights because the Disciplinary Tribunal is geared to wield the big stick on erring pharmacists and pharmaceutical premises in the best interest of consumers of health.
7. The PCN bill also has the unique feature of unhindered empowerment as professional and their cadres of practice are registered as distinct legal entities. The PCN bill will therefore feature for public consumption a gazette of registered pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, registered retail, wholesale, Importation, manufacturing. CWC and satellite pharmacies. The peculiar registration format will also highlight all patent and Proprietary medicines vendors license holders in Nigeria for proper scrutiny.
8. The PCN bill has also taken care  of effective management to resources by presenting a robust yet broad spectrum structure that can work maximally in the Interest of the pharma-sector to enhance service delivery at all times.

Finally, the ACPN appeals to the Federal Government to heed this clarion call to engender e new agenda of productivity, professionalism, self-sufficiency in local production and regularory excellence in the pharma-sector. These achievements will change the narrative and place the pharma-sector in good stead to contribute to National Gross Domestic Products (GDP).

Yours faithfully,

For: Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria

Pharm. Samuel Adekola MAW

National Chairman

Pharm. (Mrs.) Abosede Idowu

National Secretary

---

---