Community Pharmacists under the canopy of Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) on Monday bemoaned currency fluctuation, insisting that it has adversely affected local drugs production and drug prices in the country.
ACPN stated that drug prices will continue to soar as much as there was no deliberate effort by the federal government to address currency issues.
Addressing journalists in Enugu as part of its 35th annual national conference, its National Chairman, Dr Albert K Alkali, who described as terrible, the impact of fluctuating currency on the sector, further urged the federal government to declare an emergency on currency fluctuation.
"The truth is that it is a terrible thing. We have visited the president and those issues of currency fluctuation was raised up and presented to the president and he assured that action will be taken because with currency fluctuation, you cannot price your products well," said Alkali, adding that "On the average, prices of drugs have gone up and I think it's one area government needs to declare an emergency in this currency fluctuation so that our people cannot suffer."
He further explained: "We call on government to work on that to ensure that they stabilize the currency so as to create an enabling environment where we can start becoming self-sufficient in drug production because the Pharmaceutical industry has a potential of recreating millions of jobs once the environment is well organized”
According to Alkali, the association had also called on government to look into the issue of import waiver on the raw materials so as to reduce prices of drugs, stressing that “if the raw material is not properly priced, it will cascade into the finished product”.
He noted that the Association was also concerned with the appointment of a Director General for the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), insisting that such had become necessary as a result of increasing fake drugs in the Nigerian markets. He said: “Fake drugs are still a major problem a here. When the past DG was appointed, we cried foul and said you need a professional to handle the issue of NAFDAC, but people didn’t understand, they said may be the Pharmacists want a Pharmacist for themselves. As a DG of NAFDAC, you are the chief inspector and you cannot be a chief inspector and you are not fully grounded in pharmacy.
"Pharmacy is not just taking one section and you say you are grounded. We have the branch that deals with all products, we have aspect of drug manufacturing, we have pharmacology that deals with the actions of the drug and the side effect of the drug; we have the pharmaceutical chemistry that deal with the chemicals. You can modify them to give the best effect and also the synthesis of the drug.
"We now have the Clinical aspect that is patent centered, counseling and pharmaceutical care. So we need NAFDAC person that understands all these that I have talked about; because if you know, you know the implication of those taking the drugs, the various reactions that drug can elicit.
"If you talk about fake drugs, you will really not understand that implication until it happens. As trained pharmacists, we know that fake drugs can lead to kidney failure, liver problem, cancer and what have you. So we advocate that a person of right because an average person that is not trained will not understand. If we have an average person there, the issue will be worse than these crimes that we are experiencing in the society.”.
Speaking on the theme of the conference, ‘Manpower development in community pharmacy practice, adopting global best practices”, he said that human capital development was most vital component of any society.
He added that for any society to move forward, it must not only rely on money but the human capital. The conference, he disclosed, would also afford them opportunity to review challenges militating against the practice by individual members.
By: Tony Adibe, Enugu
Daily Trust News
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