From Tony Osauzo, Benin
Pharmacists in Edo State and the country in general have been urged to participate in partisan politics if they were desirous of entrenching the practice of community pharmacy in Nigeria.
Managing Director of Flowell Pharmacy, Fred Iboi, gave the advice during the 2023 summit of the Edo State chapter of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) in Benin.
Iboi, who was chairman on the occasion, said since policies were formulated by political office holders, it was important that pharmacists got involved in politics so that they would be able to influence policies that could enhance community pharmacy, stressing that it was only when they were involved that their interests would be protected.
“Pharmacists should go into politics as one of the emerging opportunities. If you don’t have anyone in government, nobody will speak for you. As one of the emerging opportunities, it is your responsibility to see that whenever any pharmacist is contesting an election, we must mobilise to support him or her. Those in government make the laws and we need to be represented.”
Iboi commended Governor Godwin Obaseki for his efforts at revamping primary healthcare delivery in the state, saying with the government policy, “every ward in the state is earmarked for one primary healthcare centre. New ones are being built and the old ones are being renovated.
“Pharmacist are needed in the rural areas. Community pharmacy is another emerging opportunity. The current policy in place on community pharmacy needs to be fine-tuned if pharmacists are to take their clinical experiences to the rural areas,” he said.
In his speech entitled, “Emerging opportunities for pharmacy in healthcare delivery: Community pharmacists’ preparedness,” Iboi said the theme was “carefully chosen to proactively espouse the new frontiers for community pharmacists in 21st century healthcare delivery and also stimulate commitment from our colleagues to explore same.”
He disclosed that over the past few years, the leadership of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and the ACPN at the national levels had had several engagements with various health sector stakeholders with a view of expanding the roles of pharmacists in healthcare delivery.
He disclosed such engagements had led to “pharmacists, particularly community pharmacists, being considered in the conversation with respect to primary healthcare services, including vaccination/immunisation, contraception and family planning services, health insurance provision, consultancy cadre and more.”
In his keynote address on the theme of the summit, Joseph Madu, national chairman, Clinical Pharmacists Association of Nigeria (CPAN), said “pharmacy practice in Nigeria should be on the same level as other countries of the world and with commendable health indices too.”