Worried by the present emergency health situation in the country, Pharmacists under the   aegis of Faculty of Community Pharmacy of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP) in collaboration with the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has rolled out guidelines that will fast-track efforts to contain the deadly Ebola virus disease (EVD) and avert an epidemic in the country.

 

The rules which were made available to Daily Newswatch on Tuesday are fallout of the communiqué issued after a seminar which was organised by the Faculty of Community Pharmacy of the WAPCP in collaboration with ACPN on Tuesday, at Yaba, Lagos under the Chairmanship of Pharm. Azubuike B. Okwor.

 

The seminar with the theme: “Ebola Virus Disease – Harmonizing Pharmacists Response,” is in line with the national response and the pledge of pharmacists to contribute in the effort to stop the spread of EVD in the country.

The communiqué was issued by National President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Olumide Akintayo, stated that the seminar witnessed large turnout of professionals from different pharmaceutical groups during which participants brainstorming sessions discussing the role of health workers including pharmacists among others to curtail the spread the disease.

The job of eliminating Ebola begins from the health worker who must ensure safety precautions, personal hygiene and regular environmental sanitations, the communiqué said.

 

“Prevention of disease should start from the health worker instituting safety precautions, personal hygiene and regular environmental sanitations.”

It further identified promotion of health education among health personnel, family members and the entire community to be critical in curbing the disease.

 

According to the communiqué, the role of pharmacists in emergency responsiveness should be concretized.

“In order to sustain the pharmaceutical care activities in the community pharmacies, there is need to sustain the monitoring of vital signs such as blood pressure checks but with institution of a mixture of precautionary safety measures such as sanitizing of the cuffs with sodium hypochlorite before and after each use, temperature monitoring in order to exclude clients with high temperature and refer them to appropriate facilities,” it said.

 

The communiqué stressed on importance of hand washing as a way of avoiding infection. “Appropriate and responsible hand washing remains the most effective preventive method against the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease.”

Since a successful supply chain is pivotal to the management and prevention of Ebola Virus Disease, participants at the seminar reasoned: “It is inevitable that pharmacists strengthen the logistics for the supply of health commodities needed for supportive and preventive management of Ebola Virus Disease.”Consequently, the communiqué further said: “It is also important that Pharmacists Council of Nigeria and NAFDAC be requested to fast track regulatory processes for companies and organisations wishing to manufacture or import the health commodities,”

 

According to the communiqué, there is need to put in place measures for pharmacists to access the Ebola fund already approved by the Federal Government.

“Vigilance, increasing awareness about the Ebola Virus Disease and provision of the correct information to the public remains the best way to prevent the scourge,” it added.

The PSN National President, had earlier noted at weekend that there is need for collaboration among all stakeholders to ensure that the spread of EVD is curbed, since the virus has no cure.

Akintayo who said that emphasis should be directed to prevent  the spread of the disease stressed:  “In the wake of the emergency health situation, it has become pertinent for the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria to take some drastic actions to help arrest the impending epidemic we have on our hands. Currently there is no cure for this deadly  Ebola, so all hands must be put on deck to ensure that the spread of this disease is curbed to the barest minimum. Emphasis is therefore on prevention of the spread of the disease.”

 

He also observed that    pharmacists under the aegis of the Association  of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, have since been involved in many public health campaign to promote proper hand  washing and the use of hand sanitizers where soap and water is not readily available.

However, these campaigns were not very successful as most Nigerians didn’t take the issue of hand hygiene very successful, the National President lamented. He further said that some of his colleagues involved in these campaigns stocked their pharmacies with these sanitizers only to be compelled to give them out as souvenirs to prevent them from expiring on the shelves.

 

“However, in the wake of the Ebola virus disease, the demand for these products have now far exceeded the supply such that the price has gone out of the reach of the common man, he lamented.

“ This is further complicated by the fact that there is little or no commercial production of hand sanitizers in the country. As a professional association, with the well being of Nigerians as its topmost priority, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has therefore developed a plan to help make this product readily available in the shortest possible time,”  Akintayo said.

 

According to him, the training of pharmacists adequately prepares them both for industrial pharmaceutical preparations and extemporaneous pharmacy preparation. Therefore, the production of hand sanitizers would be done extemporaneously in selected retail pharmacies across Nigeria.

These are duly registered premises by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria with the requisite manpower to handle such formulations.

 

Akintayo pointed that there is a World Health Organisation(WHO)- recommended formulation for alcohol based hand scrub with a clear procedure for extemporaneous formulation within a Pharmacy and this will be strictly followed.

He pledged the commitment of PSN: “The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria will drive this process to ensure the quality of the formulations produced.These sanitizers will then be procured in retail pharmacies across Nigeria in small retail packs.”