Pharmacists under the aegis of Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately assent to the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) Bill, to enhance effective drug distribution and administration in the country.
In 14-point a communiqué signed by the National Chairman and Secretary of ACPN, Adewale Oladigbolu and Ezeh Ambrose Sunday respectively, at the end of its 41st Annual National Scientific Conference in Lagos, the pharmacists expressed satisfaction with the contents of the draft bill which it believes would provide the enabling template to achieve the desired objectives.
Disturbed by the prevalence of fake and adulterated drugs in the country, ACPN also called on the federal government to urgently review the supply chain system for drugs distribution in Nigeria to maximise the benefits of the supply chain platform that interconnects all pharmaceutical entities in Nigeria initiated by ACPN.
“The Premises to Premises or Pharmacy to Pharmacy (P2P) platform is a Pharmaceutical Ecosystem to make sure medicines ordering in Nigeria is from, and through PCN-registered facilities only.
The P2P platform is now operational to strengthen the supply chain system, reduce the prevalence of fake medicines and reduce the scare concerns associated with our industry. Thus, products available at community pharmacies will be those without untoward supply chain excursions.’’
ACPN also recommended a policy reform that would incorporate herbal medicine in healthcare delivery. This can be achieved by creating a scientific database of herbal products of primary health indications as well as the identification of community pharmacists as care providers for substance use disorders and mental health screening.
The association commended the government for repealing the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Act and replacing it with a new law, National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) 2022; enacted to promote, integrate and regulate all health insurance schemes in Nigeria. And believes that ‘’the goal of reducing out -of- pocket expenditure on health to less than 30 per cent will be easily achieved and, expanding health coverage will favourably cause a decline in Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and Under 5 Mortality Rate (U5MR).’’
According to the document, the new Act 2022 which was re-jigged would propel Social Health Insurance through specific interventions, including capturing the roles of states in jump-starting the State Health Insurance Scheme, ensuring the implementation and utilisation of the Basic National Healthcare, provision funds, providing for the basic healthcare needs of the indigents and vulnerable groups which constitute about 40 per cent of the population.
While it decried the operational modalities of the NHIS which consistently deviated from the set goals, targets and objectives of a well coordinated Social Health Insurance agenda, a major reason for the unacceptable and disappointing coverage rate of less than five per cent for over 15 years, it advised that “a particular attention be paid to the shortcomings of the NHIS which could limit the success of the NHIA act, for instance: The sidetracking of community pharmacists and other secondary providers in the global capitation payment which adversely affected trust.
“Thus, payment mechanisms must be right and premised on the lawful precept which prescribes fee for service for CPs and other secondary as well as tertiary providers.”
According to ACPN, the Primary Health Care (PHC) system is recognised as the cornerstone of healthcare delivery, capable of meeting the healthcare needs of the vast majority of the population. It stressed that the PHC system encompasses a broad mix of preventive, protective, curative, and palliative care.
It said “achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is a responsibility for all, especially in these times of expanding population and limited human resources for health.”
Stressing on the importance of community pharmacies as Primary Healthcare Centres in Nigeria, ACPN posited that it will “propel improved quality of life which translates to decreased burden of healthcare on the government because PHCs in existence are too few to serve the populace and are often under-resourced and lacking in skilled manpower.
“PHC is a community-oriented model, for the discharge of health care services to the population in their communities, in a way that is easy and acceptable to them.”
It claimed that according to WHO community pharmacists are the health professionals most accessible to the public, who render services such as prevention of diseases and health promotion programmes, screening, identification and classification of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes; dispensing of medicines in accordance with nationally agreed protocols and ensuring accurate supply of medicinal products through a quality process and maintaining links with other health professionals to support referral.
ACPN urged government to “utilise the peculiar advantage of the network of community pharmacists in rural and urban centres to drive its agenda of UCH, even as it charged the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to ensure the right policies with pragmatic and technical support are put in place.”
The professional body urged government at the state and federal levels, as well as the private sector, to use pharmacists’ depth of knowledge and broad spectrum skills in all key health programs, including primary healthcare endeavours, social health insurance, and managed healthcare schemes, in order to ensure access to affordable and qualitative health care services.
The association said it has adopted the launching of the Julius Adelusi Community Pharmacy Expansion Grant to improve the access of 230 million Nigerians to community pharmacists and approved plans to immortalise the late pharmacist, Jimi Adesanya – a former National Chairman of the Nigeria Association of General Practice Pharmacists (now ACPN) for meritorious services.
