Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has explained the reason why there’s prevalence of fake and substandard drugs in the country, saying there are over two million unregistered pharmaceutical premises and over 35 open drug markets in the country.
The PSN has also disclosed that there’s no substantive registrar for the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) the regulatory body who could curtail the excesses and abusec of some unregistered pharmaceutical premises.
President of PSN, Prof. Cyril O. Usifoh made these known in Lagos on Saturday at a press conference to announce the 96th Annual National Conference of the PSN tagged ‘Jewel City 2023 taking place in Gombe State from October 30 to November 4.
The conference with the theme ‘Pharmacy Practice: A Pivot to Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria’ will hold at the International Conference Centre, Bauchi Road in Gombe State. The keynote address will be delivered by the Deputy Governor of Gombe State, Dr. Menassah Daniel Jatau.
However, Usifoh sought the prompt intervention of the Chief Law Officer of the country to guide the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration on the challenge of both lack of funding for the PCN and the appointment of a substantive registrar to mann that regulatory body.
The president of PSN also lamented that poor funding and the status quo of the Federal Government involvement have compelled Nigerians to live with physicians dispensing drugs in private hospitals, a thriving drug abuse and misuse culture, which is seriously consuming Nigerians especially youths and even women.
He said, “We cannot as a nation have a consuming evil of the monstrosity, which has also been identified by the National Assembly, and you walk away as government because some financial technocrats think they want to save money.
“It amounts to a comprehensive abdication of responsibility by an otherwise responsible government to contemplate this with PCN, which is both a peculiar and unique professional regulatory Council.”
On the contrary, the President of PSN said from the purview of existing laws, the Federal Government is compelled in Section 9 (1) of the PCN Act 2022 to provide budgetary and extra budgetary allocations to the PCN. “It will therefore be unlawful and illegal for the Budget Office to stop allocations to the PCN in public interest.,” he added.
He stated that the mandate of the PCN transcends regulating pharmacists and other workforce cadre to the regulation and control of pharmaceutical premises in both public and private sectors including facilities for manufacture, importation, export, distribution, wholesale, retail, hospital drug dispensing and sales, pharma component of veterinary practice and much more.”
Consequently, Usifoh reasoned: “The sensitivity of these endeavours which are legally considered as medicine matters is the reason most countries bring drug use matters under central or federal control.”
That’s why medicine matters are listed as item 21 in Part 1 of 2nd Schedule in the 1999 Constitution.
Pharmacists in the country therefore urged the Federal Government to ensure adequate protection of lives in terms of ensuring easy access to safe, efficacious and affordable drugs to consumers of health in the country.