How pharmacists can transform Nigeria’s economy, Says PSN

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has asked policymakers to tap into the potential of pharmacists to improve the country’s struggling economy and put it on a path to recovery.

This was part of a presentation to commemorate World Pharmacists Day, which had the theme “Pharmacy United in Action for a Healthier World” this year.

The worldwide pharmaceutical industry is valued approximately $1.42 trillion, and the same industry in certain nations is worth more than the country’s annual budget, according to PSN, adding that if Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector is effectively catered for, it might assist reorient the economy.

“We observed that in the last five years, almost 5,000 pharmacists have emigrated to Canada and the UK for greener pastures just like all other healthcare workers and indeed new generations of Nigerians. Of the about 50,000 pharmacists produced in Nigeria, no fewer than 20,000 practise in the country, meaning that well over 50 per cent of Nigerian pharmacists practise abroad.”

The PSN called for a pharmaco-economic colloquium. “An economic forum comprising leaders of pharmacy in the private and government levels on the one hand, and on the other, government ministries, departments and agencies involved in economic planning, forecasting and implementation. This should be geared toward developing a national master plan for a pharmacy sector revolution to generate exponential revenue by harnessing the abundant potential of the sector.”

According to PSN, involving pharmacists in patient management will result in a healthy populace. “The bottom line of the intervention of pharmacists is to improve people’s quality of life. Studies show that when pharmacists are involved in patient care, medication errors are drastically reduced, patients spend less money and time in the hospital, the risk of death and disability is minimal and a healthier workforce is guaranteed for the nation.

“With proper incentives from the government, local drug manufacturers can improve tremendously. Medicine security is an issue in Nigeria, with a significant amount of medications used in Nigeria being imported. With local manufacturing, drugs will be cheaper, more available and better controlled with less capital flight, even earning forex via export.

“The Federal Government has taken a good step in this direction by inviting local manufacturers to bid for the production of medications used in the country’s health insurance but much more needs to be done. Of course, increase manufacturing means more employment opportunities and a reduction in the problem of unemployment.

“The discovery of artemisinin contributed enormously to China’s economy because apart from investing in R&D, the government also gave diplomatic backing to the product resulting in a global acceptance and adoption of Artemisinin Combination Therapies ACTs as the mainstay in malaria treatment.”