Reconstitute our Council, pharmacists urge Buhari

The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PCN, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to reconstitute the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, PCN, recently dissolved alongside the Boards of other Parastatals. PCN in a press statement to celebrate this year’s World Pharmacists Day made available to Vanguard noted that the dissolution of the Board would further bastardise the practice which has suffered a lot in an environment best described as ‘most wretched level’and cannot afford another vacuum in terms of regulatory control. The statement signed by the PSN President, Pharm. Olumide Akintayo noted that the absence of PCN Governing Council in a strategic profession like pharmacy would promote fake drug syndrome albeit tragically. “Disciplinary procedures must be a continuous phenomenon on erring pharmacist or pharmaceutical company. The absence of PCN Governing Council in a strategic profession like ours boosts the fake drug syndrome albeit tragically. The situation in our profession is replicated in some other healthcare professions which are now justifiably issuing ultimatums,”he noted. Contuning, Olumide added that other statutory functions of the council like the accreditation of training facilities for pharmacists and support staff in pharmacy are almost jeopardised. “The routine practice matters in the area of monitoring and control are not in the best of health as it has also been impossible to get council to strategise to boost efforts of the Registry of Pharmacists Council of Nigeria. He further appealed to the Federal government to halt the drift in the operational efficiency of the Council by immediately reconstituting it. “We implore the federal government to halt the drift in the operational efficiency of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria by reconstituting it now and subsequently invoking the spirit of the law that provides for perpetual succession in the enabling act. Commenting on this year’s World Pharmacy Day with the theme: “Pharmacists: Your Partner in Health”, Olumide noted that from a human right perspective, access to medicines is intrinsically linked with the principles of equity, non-discrimination, transparency, participation, and accountability. For this reason key issues related to access to medicines must be taken into account. He listed some of the issues to include; sustainable financing, availability, affordability, price and quality, efficacy of medicines, dosage, procurement practices, supply chain management and ethics / pharmaceutical care.