Fake Drugs/Safety: Community Pharmacists Urged to Collaborate with Other Stakeholders in Drug Manufacturing, Distribution

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has been urged to leverage on their link between the people and other stakeholders in the drugs manufacturing and distribution chain to check the production of fake drugs and safety of the lives of the people they deal with.

A former member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, Razaq Bello-Osagie gave this charge in Benin City yesterday at the Edo State chapter of the association’s maiden edition of valedictory Awards and Inauguration Ceremony.

He said their strategic role was important and implored them to shelve partisanship in the task.

According to him, “What you do as a community pharmacist is to dispense drugs, to advise on the use of drugs and such other ancillary issues under the law that set you up. You also have a duty to have a national conversation on where you go from here, the citizens’ chatter talked about working within the rules of engagement, how do you deliver service, what is expected from you and how through various collaboration we can identify the criminals who threaten the existential imperatives of this association.   

“In the entire value chain, there are criminals who manufacture drugs, they send to you which you dispense so you all have a duty to put on you thinking cap and have a helicopter view that these people wherever they are, they must be removed from the society so that Nigerians can have access to drugs that are efficient, the potencies are high and that when you administer them, they work for you within the rules of prescription.”

On his part, the new chairman of the chapter, Dr. Allen Iboi said he was taking over the association on a solid foundation already built by his predecessor and “will consolidate on the gains of the past administration, we will also innovate and standardize the practices and operation of community pharmacists in Edo State, we promise to give our best.”

The high point of the ceremony was the giving of awards to deserving members of the association which included awards of Legend of Community Pharmacy, Pillars of Community Pharmacy, Community Pharmacy Platinum award among others.