KEY POINTS
- ACPN supports NAFDAC’s clampdown on open drug markets.
- Pharmacists call for regular enforcement control of counterfeit drugs.
- Members asked for enhanced regulatory oversight and demanded a complete reform of the PCN Board.
The Lagos Chapter of Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) endorses the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) as it implements its nationwide drug market regulation operation.
The pharmacists stated routine law enforcement serves two essential objectives in safeguarding public wellness and upholding pharmacy regulatory criteria.
ACPN backs NAFDAC latest initiatives
The ACPN Chairman Pharm. Tolulope Ajayi spoke at the Lagos AGM while delivering praise to NAFDAC’s latest initiatives, emphasing that ACPN backs NAFDAC’s crackdown on fake drugs. According to him the drug market closures would create substantial reductions in counterfeit and substandard drugs circulating within Nigeria.
Ajayi stressed the necessity of strong action after the NAFDAC DG released data on counterfeit medicines with altered expiry dates.
Calls for strengthened regulation
Ajayi requested the federal government to enhance pharmaceutical regulation through proper resource allocation to NAFDAC and other relevant agencies along with backup security support.
The pharmacist advocated for both immediate resuming and reorganizing of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) Board to strengthen regulatory management.
Pharm. Aminu Yinka Abdulsalam who served as former ACPN Chairman voiced his alarm regarding the escalating number of unlicensed drug distribution networks that persist in open markets especially Idumota.
According to him proper pharmaceutical wholesalers operating in Lagos State make it unnecessary for customers to visit those unregulated hubs.
Pharmacists must deliver authentic pharmaceutical medicines to patients as part of their professional duty. Professionals must not accept sourcing medications from doubtful storage facilities since improper medicine storage reduces drug functionality Abdulsalam pointed out.
Professional medical organizations view the unrestricted medication market as a major problem affecting the entire nation.
The chairman of Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN) Pharm. Abiola Paul-Ozieh labeled open drug markets as a matter of national importance and crisis.
The National Drug Policy of 2012 has not gained enforcement from Nigeria to stabilize its chaotic drug distribution systems which she strongly deplores.
The unregulated commercialization of pharmaceutical drugs creates severe dangers for the national population. The major distribution source for counterfeit and substandard medications operates through open drug markets. According to him the destruction of these drug markets remains an absolute necessity.
Paul-Ozieh called for:
The government must enhance its support through increased funding and additional personnel for regulatory organizations.
Pharmaceutical organizations need to perform value chain audits across their operations as a way to maintain ethical conduct.
– Enforcement of global best practices in pharmaceutical distribution and storage.
Sustaining regulatory momentum
Pharm. Anthony Bola Oyawole who served as past chairman of the Lagos Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) expressed his strong disapproval of insufficient monitoring in the pharmaceutical sector because the industry operated solely as a trade platform.
Pharmaceutical products go beyond being typical merchandise since they need particular storage requirements. Medicines become insufficient or poisonous when they receive improper storage according to Oyawole.
He indicated that pharmaceutical premises registration ceased in Idumota after the early 1980s while noting the absence of political support for making the rules sustainable.
The executive of NAFDAC must continue their current momentum by instituting periodic effective regulation of pharmaceutical products, and can be assure that ACPN backs NAFDAC’s crackdown on fake drugs according to Dr. Oyawole.
Reinforcing leadership for regulatory advocacy
During the AGM members unanimously re-elected the entire ACPN executive to continue their mission of supporting better pharmaceutical regulations and public health safety in Nigeria.
