The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has raised concerns about serious problems in how Nigeria buys medicine and delivers basic healthcare services.
The group blamed the situation on bad government policies and the intentional exclusion of important health experts from key decisions.
In a letter to President Bola Tinubu, the group said that past governments have made the problem worse by planning poorly, ignoring expert advice, and not involving all relevant professionals in making health policies.
The letter, signed by ACPN leaders Ambrose Igwekamma Ezeh and Omokhafe Ashore, said these issues are making it hard for Nigeria to provide quality healthcare for everyone.
The letter warned that Nigeria could face a health emergency if the government doesn’t fix problems with the medicine supply system and weak primary healthcare services.
The pharmacists criticized the Federal Ministry of Health for approving a centralized system called MEDIPOOL without properly discussing it with pharmacy experts and other key professionals.
They said these kinds of one-sided decisions ignore pharmacists, even though their skills are vital for making sure medicines are safe, affordable, and available.
The ACPN urged the government to stop making health policies without involving pharmacists and supply chain experts, saying this top-down method leads to poor results.
They also warned that leaving community pharmacists out of national medicine plans goes against best practices worldwide and is making Nigeria’s medicine supply system inefficient, open to corruption, and unstable.
The group criticized the government for ignoring the National Drug Distribution Guidelines, a system created in 2015 to improve how drugs are distributed in Nigeria.
They said that because the guidelines aren’t being followed, the way medicines are delivered has become chaotic, especially in rural areas, where people now struggle to get quality drugs.
Instead of improving the guidelines and creating a strong national medicine delivery system, the government has created weak and disorganized alternatives that make the problem worse.
The ACPN asked President Tinubu to create a national Drug Management Agency, backed by law, to handle drug procurement using clear processes and funds from national health programs.
They said this agency would help distribute medicines efficiently to federal and state health institutions, and also allow private healthcare providers to work under a common standard.
Without a proper system in place, the group warned, Nigerians will continue to face problems like drug shortages, high prices, and unsafe medicines in the market.
The ACPN also accused the National Primary Health Care Development Agency of not working with a balanced team of health professionals, saying it favors only one group.
They believe the primary healthcare system is failing because it doesn’t involve different types of professionals in its planning and operations.
They also said that poor planning and weak coordination among health workers are the main reasons Nigeria’s health insurance and PHC programs are not doing well.
The group reminded the government that community pharmacists proved their worth during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping with vaccination efforts.
But instead of building on that success, the government is now turning to new, untested systems.
The pharmacists called for full inclusion of their members in planning and running primary healthcare, saying they are often the closest and most accessible health professionals for millions of people.
They concluded by saying that if Nigeria wants to achieve proper healthcare for all, it must fix its medicine supply system and build primary healthcare with input from all health professionals.
Finally, they urged the president to urgently review current medicine supply systems and include pharmacists and logistics experts in health policy decisions, warning that without action, Nigerians will keep facing medicine shortages and poor healthcare.
