By Chioma Umeha
Pharmacists
under the auspices of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) have stressed the
need for the country to achieve self-sufficiency in pharmaceutical production.
They noted that this will remove Nigeria from the list of countries that have
become dump sites for fake drugs.
Speaking
for pharmacists was Ahmed Yakasai, President of PSN who spoke at the society’s
90th annual week-long national conference in Umuahia, Abia state which started
Monday.
Yakasai
said that PSN is at the vanguard of ensuring that the country emerge
self-sufficiency in medicine production so as to contribute to the nation’s
Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
According
to the PSN boss, this informed the society’s choice of the theme of the august
event – “Medicines Availability and National Security.”
He
said; “In a bid to continually contribute to National Development we have
adopted the choice theme “Medicines Availability and National Security”.
“The
reasons for this choice are obviously germane, because the place of
non-military elements of national security such as “Health Security cannot be
over-emphasised.”
Yakasai
argued that a nation that does not strive towards self-sufficiency in medicine
production risks vulnerability to “perishing at the altar of its enemies who
just need to lace some of its fast selling lines with poisons to inflict
substantial mortality.
“In
economic terms, a need also arises to grow GDP of a nation through the
nourishment of its pharmaceutical sector. This is why
self-sufficiency in pharmaceutical production remains the watch word for any
forward looking nation.”
According
to him, the passion to achieve self-sufficiency in medicine production also
informed the choice of Dr. Andrew S. Nevin, PhD, Partner-FS Advisory Leader and
Chief Economist and Global Leader – Project Blue, PwC,
Nigeria as the Keynote speaker at the conference opening ceremony.
Dr.
Nevin is one of the leading PwC’s global thinkers, working at the complex
intersection of economics, strategy and regulation with over 30 years
professional experience, Yakasai said.
“He
will be expected to critically evaluate potentials of our sector in our quest
to move to the next level in local production of drugs. We sincerely
appreciate him for accepting this very important task. For greater
effect there will be other perspectives to the appraisal of the theme including
those of an array of regulators, a social enterprise and purely business
analysis.”
The
PSN President also pledged that the society will properly position the over 150
pharma manufacturers of various sizes for the target of increasing the size of
the pharmaceutical market which is presently worth meagre $1.3 billion dollars,
accounting for less than 0.25 per cent of National GDP.
Already,
four of them have World Health Organisation(WHO) prequalification.
He
also said that PSN has contributed its quota to the advancement of the
healthcare profession in particular and the well-being and happiness of
Nigerians in general in the last one year.
The
PSN boss gave a breakdown of some of the society’s activities which includes:
symposium on inter-professionalism among the health care providers; launching
of PSN Foundation; construction and unveiling of PSN Monument at National
Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) headquarters;
establishment and commissioning of PSN Medicine Information Centre, among
others.
He
also said that PSN will continue to champion mentorship programmes for
colleagues, particularly the young ones.
His
words: “As part of our undiluted moral agenda we have continued to support
agitations for improved welfare conditions for our members in the public
sector.”
Earlier,
Yakasai identified delayed and unlawful appointments in regulatory agencies,
poor composition structures in the health sector, including lopsided
appointments in Federal Health Institutions and poor attitude to research and
development as challenges facing the health sector.
Yakasai
who said this while answering questions from journalists, also said bemoaned
poor infrastructure, remuneration package among other things as part
of the problems plaguing the sector.
The
PSN boss said: “Low wages and obsolete equipment combine to make our health system
largely unproductive. Universal Health Coverage is almost impossible because of
a deficiently administered social health insurance agenda.”
About
5,000 pharmacists and scientists from Nigeria and the Diaspora are attending
the week-long largest annual gathering of pharmacy professionals which started
Monday.
Yakasai
assured that the conference would address the imperatives of medicine
availability to national security.
“In
this light, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has been a strong advocate
for local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and the need for government to
create friendly environment for pharmaceutical sector in Nigeria,” he said.
As
part of the conference, the leadership of the society weekend embarked on
medical outreach at Ubakala Autonomous community in the state.
The
outreach with seven doctors, 20 nurses and 40 pharmacists included screening,
consultation, counseling and drug dispensing.
