Ahmed
Yakasai, President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) is a veteran
practitioner with over three decades of experience. Yakasai who is a former
Chairman of PSN Kano State Branch, first National Deputy President of PSN and a
two-time past Commissioner in Kano State, in this interview with CHIOMA
UMEHA, shares perspectives on pharmacy and health management issues.
Excerpts:
Nigeria
has celebrated 57th years anniversary of independence. What are the challenges
of the health sector? What is the way forward?
Nigeria
continues to contend with a plethora of challenges not necessarily caused by
this incumbent administration. Among numerous challenges, the following stand
out: poor funding, delayed and unlawful appointments in regulatory agencies,
poor composition structures in the health sector including, lopsided
appointments in Federal Health Institutions (FHIs) as well as poor attitude to
research and development.
If we
restrict ourselves to the highlighted, you will agree that the inherent
tendency of health tourism is predicated on poor funding.
Currently,
over 95 per cent of the health workforce is on an avoidable strike as a result
of challenges in funding. Low wages and obsolete equipment combine to make our
health system largely unproductive.
Universal
Health Coverage (UHC) is impossible because of deficiently administered social
health insurance agenda.
Delays
in appointments that are also sometimes unlawful in sensitive regulatory
agencies like NAFDAC, PCN and others ultimately take a toll on the quality of
care consumers of health receive from caregivers.
An
agency like NAFDAC, which normally should enhance a high safety margin in the
range of available regulated products, cannot dwell on ad-hoc structures in
perpetuity. It can be even more tragic when government conducts unlawful
appointments like those we have witnessed in previous dispensations at NAFDAC,
PCN, Nursing and Midwifery Council and Medical Laboratory Science Council of
Nigeria (MLSCN).
You
are familiar with the position of stakeholders in health with reference to the
composition of the board of management of FHIs that is unduly skewed against
majority of stakeholders. The way forward is to redress the highlighted
challenges.
The
pharmaceutical sector is an often neglected goldmine, because we have the
requisite expertise to share. We can meet over 90 per cent of local
needs and export to other African countries – become
African hub for pharmaceuticals. It will be my joy to see this actualised in my
lifetime for the good of Nigeria.
Pharmacists
recently celebrated World Pharmacists Day. What is it all about?
Every
September 25 marks the annual World Pharmacists Day(WPD). Many years ago, the
FIP Congress in Istanbul encouraged the world’s pharmacists to celebrate the
day and use it to organise activities that promote the role of the
pharmacists in improving health
globally.
The theme of this year’s
celebration was, “ From Research To Health Care: Your Pharmacist is at Your
Service.” The theme was chosen to reflect the numerous contributions which the
pharmacist makes to health, from research and development of medicines to
educating future practitioners as well as pharmaceutical scientists, and
providing direct care. Our goal is to serve patients and the community.
However, providing care does not begin in community or hospital pharmacies.
Patients’ care starts with recognising the health issues of populations and
developing medicines, policies and education to tackle them.
WPD
highlights the pivotal role of pharmacists in healthcare delivery from research
to care giving.
Where
does the PSN stand in the quest to improve the welfare of health workers in
Nigeria, especially against the backdrop of incessant strikes in federal health
institutions (FHIs)?
We
wish to appeal to the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to give
immediate attention to the clamours of health workers, including pharmacists to
redress some pressing welfare demands. The demands include immediate release of
the circular on adjustment of the CONHESS scale by the Salaries and Wages
Commission. Second is the full payment of balance of arrears of the skipping of
CONHESS 10 which remains outstanding in some FHIs since 2010.
Next
is proper implementation of the circular which prescribes sanctions on
defaulting Federal Health Institution Managements which frustrate the promotion
of health workers from CONHESS 14 to 15 as directors
The
fourth is issuance of enabling circular authorising consultancy cadre for
health professionals who have adhered to due process by scaling the hurdles of
approval of the National Council on Establishment.
Fifth
is sponsoring an amendment bill to finally correct the litany of contentious
provisions in the enabling statute that establishes teaching hospitals in
Nigeria (cap 415 463 LFN 2004).
PSN
is appealing to the Federal Government to sustain the lofty ideals of the
intervention championed by the late Minister of State for Labour and
Productivity, Barrister James Ocholi, who calmed frayed nerves within the ranks
of the various Health Sector Unions and Health Professional Associations that
had threatened to go on strike in February, last year.
PSN
strongly urges JOHESU/AHPA to continue using dialogue as a tool of engaging
government in public interest to resolve the ongoing strike.
The
PSN believes that now is the time to give all care-providers unlimited
latitudes to showcase their potentials, skills and enhance their performance in
various areas of specialisation. We must continue to align with the global
objectives and targets of health care which places huge premium on all health
workers in the value chain.
We
call on the Office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Head of
Service of the Federation, Budget Office, Federal Ministry of Health, Federal
Ministry of Labour and Productivity and all others involved in negotiations
with JOHESU/AHPA to do everything possible to facilitate urgent end to the
ongoing strike of health workers which paralyses the economy and causes untold
sufferings on the masses.
What
plans are in place to ensure commencement of the amended National Drug
Distribution Guidelines (NDDG)?
Stakeholders
are collaborating to ensure that the proposed Coordinated Wholesale Centres
(CWCs) takes off effectively.
Among
the collaborators are Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), National Agency for
Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Federal Ministry of Health
and pharmacy stakeholders. These include Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), Nigerian Representatives of
Overseas Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (NIROPHARM), AIDS Prevention Initiative
in Nigeria (APIN), Association Of Community Pharmacists Of Nigeria(ACPN) and
representative of non-pharmacist wholesalers. The CWCs are already constructed
in some parts of the country. You will agree with me this is very strategic to
our overall success.
It is
my belief that when PCN and NAFDAC structure are fully established, we shall
mobilise to consolidate our present level of commitment and gains. The PSN remains
committed to effective drug distribution channels and I assure the consuming
public we shall not fail in this regard.
The
Federal Government has now given the CWCs a new deadline of December 2018 and I
must say all stakeholders must ensure a no-going back posture on the deadline.
We
have had appointments in most parastatals including some in the health sector,
when and what do you expect with notable appointments in the pharmaceutical
sector?
It is
the prerogative of the Federal Government to carry out these appointments
whether at PCN, NAFDAC or National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and
Development (NIPRD) which I believe you are referring to. I however presume
that your interest is predicated in public interest, especially in the value
such appointments can bring to bear on public health endeavours.
Our
first priority is to ensure lawful appointments on all pharmaceutical platforms
because we certainly do not envisage or pray for the disruption in equilibrium
we experienced at PCN when representatives of PSN was compromised due to a
distasteful manipulation by an interested party.
We
once had the same scenario at NAFDAC which degenerated to a court action in
another dispensation.
To
avoid an unpalatable discourse, the PSN has since recommended its
representatives to the Minister of Health as provided for in Section 3 (1) F of
the PCN Act. The Federal Government is also familiar with the required criteria
for the appointments of substantive DG/CEO for NAFDAC.
We
shall continue to believe that an administration that abhors corruption as the
incumbent government has demonstrated would be seriously mindful of not
appointing elements who have antecedents that are tainted with corruption. The
protracted delay in the appointment of the DG NAFDAC in particular has
encouraged rumour mongering which generates entropy in the pharmaceutical space.
Our
profession is at a critical junction because the delayed appointments in the
regulatory agencies make us unduly vulnerable to the whims and caprices of
merchants of death and other violators of the law.
It is
instructive to put on record too that to appoint regulators especially, in our
sector should be premised or built around persons who are conversant with the
terrain to be regulated. I therefore appeal to the Federal Government to give
us lawful and befitting appointments in the pharmaceutical sector in the days
and months ahead.
The
90th annual national conference of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria holds
in November this year at Umuahia. What do we
expect?
This
conference has as its theme, “Medicines Availability and National Security.”
The Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, is expected to
declare it open as a special guest of honour, while the Governor of Abia State
is chief host. The Minister of Health will be the guest of honour and the
occasion would be chaired by Mr. Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State.
Our
nation needs to develop an efficient manpower base in the quest for
self-sufficiency and economic growth. We shall strategise on improving local
drug manufacturing, while ensuring all other drugs that will assist in wellness
and eradicating life-threatening situations would be available in our health
system.
This
unique conference will therefore exploit avenues for this much sought after
maxims as it concerns the pharmaceutical sector of the economy. It is a
peculiar gathering of pharmacists and other scientists nationwide as well as
the Diaspora, so you can only expect new positive force to emerge,
pharmaceutically speaking after November 11, 2017.
