Why pharmacists can’t deliver quality healthcare in Nigeria
But in more ways than one, it was a moment for deep reflection, stock taking and evolving strategic plans for the future of one of the oldest professional bodies in the country. The professional association which was formed in 1927, has made little impact on the lives of Nigerians in terms of accessibility and affordability […]
But in more ways than one, it was a moment for deep reflection, stock taking and evolving strategic plans for the future of one of the oldest professional bodies in the country.
The professional association which was formed in 1927, has made little impact on the lives of Nigerians in terms of accessibility and affordability of drugs. With per capita drug consumption still dismally low, at two dollars, largely due to poverty and drug seeking behaviour of Nigerians, it was just right for the President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Pharmacist Azubuike Okwor, to apologize for failing to deliver to Nigerians quality healthcare over the past 83 years.
With the theme: “Healthcare and National Development”, the president rang out an appeal, “We want to come together, we pharmacists, doctors, nurses, community health workers and even janitors in hospitals to see how we can deliver to Nigerians, quality healthcare services because we have failed to do that and we apologise to Nigerians,” he said.
He added that, “for us in Pharmacy, this is no doubt a unique conference because we are primarily in this ancient city to felicitate and specially celebrate one of our own,” saying the present political dispensation has produced pharmacists both at the federal and state levels, with two senators being pharmacists, three ministers being pharmacists and so many pharmacists at various levels at the states.
“As we celebrate this 83rd Annual National Conference of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, pharmacists must adopt the right attitude that places them firmly as primus interpares in the annals of healthcare dispensation globally. We must move beyond our traditional roles to assume new callings as health counsellors and advisers. Pharmacy facilities must also begin to evolve as ideal health centres which play prominent roles in preventive health which is the roadmap for future health plans. The theme of our conference is significant because we must begin to have an impactful vision in nation building,” Okwor said.
He acknowledged that Nigeria has failed to improve its drug manufacturing industry, wondering why, if China and India can evolve into hubs for drug manufacturing, Nigeria cannot. “A well developed pharmaceutical sector positions us to make quantum revenue from pharmaceuticals while also stabilizing national security especially against the challenges posed by the fake drug syndrome,” he added.
And the naked reality stared the pharmacists in the face when the former Minister of Health, Professor Eyitayo Lambo, delivered his keynote address.
The statistics he reeled out changed the beaming smiles on the faces of the about 1, 700 pharmacists into frowns.
According to Professor Lambo, over 100 pharmaceutical production plants of varying capacities exist in Nigeria with an aggregate investment of N300 billion, employing 600,000 people. But he said only about 40 percent of the national essential drug needs are met by the local industry, which is too low, and contributing just about two per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the economy.
He said that the pharmaceutical industry received Foreign Direct Investment of about $1.5 billion between 2000 and 2008, with the domestic market worth about $11 billion in 2008 and projected to reach $15 billion in 2012.
He lamented the “poor and chaotic” drug distribution system within the industry, also describing the interpersonal rivalries among the various categories of health professionals in spite of clear differences in roles and functions as an impediment to quality healthcare delivery and national development.
He insisted that where there is high poverty rate, the rate of healthcare is low and that it is only quality healthcare that can create wealth, calling on pharmacists to aspire for leadership positions so that they can be in authority to implement policies that can change the poor indices against the pharmaceutical industry.
Professor Lambo who decried policy somersaults in the health sector, said any professional could be the minister of health, insisting it was only a “strategic management position and not a professional one,” insisting pharmacists must put their house in order for them to be recognized. By then, the pharmacists were again beaming with smiles as the former minister had touched on a very sensitive issue that is very central to them.
For the chairman of the occasion, the Executive Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, represented by the Commissioner for Higher Education, Science and Technology in Niger State, Dr Peter Sani Sarki, it is time for PSN and other professional bodies in the health sector to “harmonise their operations to enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness.”
He said the professional bodies should be complementary and not competitive, advising PSN to collaborate with agencies such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), in curtailing the production and distribution of “fake, substandard and adulterated drugs in our system.”
He also called on the PSN to partner pharmaceutical industries in using indigenous raw materials so as to make drugs available and affordable for all Nigerians.
Disharmony in the health sector ran like a motif in a work of fiction throughout the conference. The Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, represented by the Director, Food and Drug Department of the Ministry, Pharmacist Joel Adagadzu, said the conference was an opportunity for stock taking and strategic planning for the future, adding that appropriate strategies must be sought to improve healthcare delivery in the country.
“Unfortunately, there is lack of harmony in the health sector which aggravates the poor health indices in the country. There can be no development in the face of rancour, acrimony and hateful relationships as is now witnessed among health workers. This situation is inimical to the development of the health sector and by implication, the development of the nation,” however, saying the ministry had inaugurated a Presidential Committee three months ago to address the issue of harmony among professionals in the health sector.
He added that the ministry of health is working with the Bank of Industry to see how the pharmaceutical sector can be reformed, especially pertaining to funding and government patronage. “If the recommendations of the committee are religiously implemented by the government, we are likely to see visible developments in that sector and by implication, the health sector,” the minister assured.
Earlier, in a goodwill message, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Demeji Bankole, represented by Rep Ishiaku Shara, decried the high rate of counterfeit drugs sold in Nigeria, saying about 70 per cent of drugs sold are estimated by World Health Organisation to be fake.
Bankole challenged the PSN to be in the forefront of researching into drugs that can effectively cure malaria, guinea worm, typhoid fever and other diseases that are prevalent in Nigeria and Africa at large. “The prevalence of life threatening diseases in our society including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, diabetes, etc, is another challenge your members must brace up to, in order to reduce mortality rate and break the monopoly of international medical and drug companies who sometimes hold us to ransom.
“I urge members of your society to always provide standard services that conform with international best practices in the profession so as to put an end to the worrisome practice where Nigerian elites resort to medical treatments abroad. The issue of quacks who have infiltrated your profession must be tackled with all seriousness because they have undermined the credibility of your noble calling,” he added.
In spite of the crucial role regulatory bodies play in the pharmaceutical industry, they were conspicuously missing at the conference, and it remains a wild guess if the PSN will join the fight against drug counterfeiting.