Follow Us on Google
By Henry Uche
Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), has asked President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to critically appraise the charter of demands of PSN put before him recently. Its Lagos state branch, Gbolagade Iyiola, during its annual general meeting, the group congratulating the president-elect on his victory at the 2023 presidential polls, asked for a change in the approach and tactics in the appointment of ministers for the federal ministry of health and the chief executive officers of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in the health sectors.
They also sought for improvement on the welfare of public sector pharmacists and the generality of health workers to stem the tide of brain drain in our country, and implored him for an executive bill for a bank of health.
The body emphasised on the need to achieve universal health coverage and the proper implementation of National Health Insurance Authority Act 2022.
“We call for the enabling of local manufacturing of drugs, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), excipients and related matters, better funding of healthcare and a consideration of issues constraining natural development of pharmacy.”
The PSN charged the federal and state governments to enact laws that ensured appropriate partnership to commercialise inventions, treat potential drug security/shortages as national or existential risks as well as create tax credits for companies that sponsor research and development in universities and other institutes.
“There’s need to provide funding options and grants to support or facilitate university-industry collaborations. There is also need to mandate collaborations with relevant government MDAs like National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and PCN to create centres of excellence to support academia-industry relations in the quest for production of high quality and globally acceptable APIs and other excipients.
“We need to compel through fundamental restructuring, the necessary template that allows our universities to develop an entrepreneurial mind set and framework.
“Government must champion the establishment of technology transfer offices to facilitate collaboration and management of intellectual property rights etc. There is a need for the development of a petrochemical industry that would pave the way for a true industrial revolution to reposition Nigeria as the hub for new Pharmaceutical investments.”
They added that PSN Lagos state will be the fulcrum to engineer a development that would make Lagos the favourite destination in pharmaceuticals for Africa, only if Tinubu would heed to their requests.
“Entrenchment of a conducive environment for pharmacy practice is paramount. We insisted on better regulatory techniques as we strategise to work with the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), and other regulators. The voice of PSN Lagos state branch echoes for the enactment of Pharmacy Council of Nigeria Act 2022,” they reiterated.
