Pharm. Ahmed Tijjani Mora, Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), explains in this interview with WINIFRED OGBEBO that Nigerian pharmacists? are as capable as their foreign counterparts and that they produce 40 per cent of the drugs consumed? in the country locally.
MANUFACTURING OF DRUGS IS PART OF A PHARMACIST’S TRAINING. WOULD YOU SAY SUCH TRAINING IS BEING UTILISED IN NIGERIA?
There are 13 universities with approved Bachelor of Pharmacy degree programme accredited following inspection by the Pharmacists Council. In approving, we make sure that the benchmark minimum academic standard is followed to the letter by every university that turns out pharmacy graduates.
I travel all over the country to induct and administer the oath on people migrating from pharmacy students to becoming pharmacists who will first do a one-year? internship as a pupil pharmacist under a registered pharmacist.
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ARE REGISTERED PHARMACISTS FULLY PRACTISING AS DRUG MANUFACTURERS AROUND THE COUNTRY, BECAUSE THEY TEND TO BE VISIBLE IN PHARMACY SHOPS?
All the pharmaceutical products, all the drugs manufactured in this country are manufactured by Nigerian pharmacists. You may have one or two technician expatriates. This applies to all the companies: by last year, we had about 150 manufacturing companies producing about 40 per cent of drugs circulating in this country, the rest coming mainly from America, England, and so on; but the drugs we produce here service much of the rest of West Africa dominantly through formal and informal means.
That is why Nigeria became the brain behind the formation of the West African Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Association (WAPMA) to harmonise the practice criteria and to ensure the availability of products of member countries within the countries and beyond.
Let’s take Mali, Niger,? and Burkina Faso. Why should they import a certain brand of say anti-malaria drug from faraway France when we have it produced in Nigeria? Similarly, if a certain drug is produced in Guinea which we need, why shouldn’t we procure it from Guinea instead of reaching to far-flung China or India?
This is what trade liberalization and harmonization within ECOWAS is meant to achieve. Nigeria gains much because it produces most of the drugs manufactured within the region
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IS NIGERIA? A DRUG MANUFACTURING COUNTRY?
Let’s put it this way: I will be glad to see us producing 100 per cent of the drugs we consume, but no country produces all its drugs. You have to import some. I want us to be able to produce and export a lot more than we are doing. Egypt and South Africa are doing better in the area of local production of drugs.
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IS THERE SOMETHING YOUR COUNCIL IS DOING TO MOTIVATE LOCAL DRUG MANUFACTURING?
We work to encourage more universities to mount pharmacy programmes at graduate and postgraduate levels to encourage more students into studying Pharmacy. This will in turn motivate more people into pharmacy practice, hopefully drug manufacturing in particular.
That is one way. In another way, when my inspectors and I go out to the field, we don’t go out to look for faults, but to collaborate and to assist them to ensure that their production meets prevailing good manufacturing practices. By so doing we empower many to produce more and? encourage potential producers to venture out into production.
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AT THE DRUG DISPENSING LEVEL, WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT ERRING PHARMACISTS, BECAUSE WE DO KNOW THAT SOME PHARMACISTS COMMIT UNETHICAL PRACTICES?
The Pharmacists Council has in place Pharmaceutical Inspection Committees (PICs). These are committees in the states of the federation and Abuja headed by directors of Pharmaceutical Services in state ministries of health.?
They undertake periodic inspection of retail and wholesale premises where pharmaceutical services take place. Of course, many times we shut down offices and shops and factories not complying with standards and rules of practice.
Further in 2008, we established what is known as Drug Distribution Inspection Committee (DDIC) to see that manufactured or imported drugs are distributed through only licensed wholesalers, distributors, retailers, or hospital pharmacists. This is to maintain sanity in the drug distribution network.
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HOW DO YOU PUNISH ERRING PHARMACISTS AND OTHERS IN THE DRUG DISTRIBUTION AND ADMINISTRATION CHAIN?
Incidentally, the law establishing the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria created two instruments: the Investigative panel and the disciplinary tribunal. We are in fact preparing some pharmacists now for the Disciplinary Tribunal.
We have deviant pharmacists, just as in other professions. We correct them through these organs of the PCN. Generally, we have a code of conduct for pharmacists. If they fall short of any of the provisions, they face necessary sanctions. Over the years, we’ve had to strike out names of pharmacists from the Register of Pharmacists. Some are paying fines, and so on.
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WHAT IS THE EXTENT OF MALPRACTICES AMONG PHARMACISTS?
Malpractices vary and it’s not all of them that one can reel off upon inquiry like this. Some involve money, maybe a pharmaceutical representative has sold drugs and gone off with the money. We bring in the parties involved and we try to resolve the issues.
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SOME PHARMACY SHOPS RARELY HAVE PHARMACISTS ON DUTY. IS THIS NORMAL?
It’s not normal. But there are two classes of drugs in terms of how they can be dispensed. There are ethical drugs which can only be dispensed upon the presentation of a doctor’s prescription. There are also over-the-counter drugs which are of such nature as can be given to you upon a verbal request.
But when you talk about ethical preparations, you must be attended to by a pharmacist. If you go to a pharmacist with a prescription or you feel strongly that you need the attention of a qualified pharmacist, insist that it’s the pharmacist who attends to you. You are entitled to the service of the pharmacist.
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WHAT HAPPENS IN MANY CASES WHEN YOU SIMPLY CANNOT FIND A PHARMACIST IN A GIVEN PHARMACY?
You go where pharmacists can attend to you. There will be enough of? such pharmacies around you. If you go to a pharmacy and you are told there is no pharmacist, tell whoever collects your prescription to return it because you must see a pharmacist.
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HOW WOULD YOU RATE NIGERIAN PHARMACISTS AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF EDUCATION STANDARDS NOT BEING THE BEST IN MANY FIELDS OF STUDY IN THE COUNTRY TODAY?
We monitor universities accredited to train pharmacists, to be sure that how we accredit them to train is how they train. Every pharmacist produced and inducted in Nigeria can stand tall anywhere in the world. Every passing day I sign letters of good standing for Nigeria-trained pharmacists wishing to practise in America, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and so on.
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WHAT IS THIS ABOUT THE COMMISSIONING OF A LECTURE THEATRE AT ABU ZARIA BY THE UNIVERSITY PHARMACY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION THIS SATURDAY?
The Ahmadu Bello University Pharmacy Alumni Association is a faculty-based alumni association established since 1994 when ex-pharmacy students of the university came together for development purposes such as the theatre in view.
In 2008 we organised a fundraising. What we are doing now is the commissioning of the twin 250-seat capacity lecture theatre built under the auspices of the Ahmadu Bello University Pharmacy Alumni Association by the Taraba State Government.