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.
Comments
Post a Comment