Ban on open sale of drugs
Last week, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria [PCN] said it would commence enforcement of the ban on the open sale of drugs from December this year. PCN’s Registrar Elijah Mohammed said this during an open government partnership retreat organised by the Development Research and Project Centre.
Mohammed said PCN, Federal Ministry of Health and National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control [NAFDAC] would ensure that the ban is fully enforced from December 31. He said the ban on open sale of drugs is part of the National Drug Distribution Guidelines issued by the Federal Government in 2012. The guidelines, he said, will ensure availability of good quality, efficacious, safe and affordable drugs in the country’s health care delivery system.
It is unfortunate that at this time, we are still talking about implementing a policy that is contained in the National Drug Distribution Guidelines issued six years ago. We ought to have moved beyond this point if indeed we were serious about this issue. This reflects what happens to many good policies in this country. They are made but never implemented and nobody follows up on them. Since 2012, we heard on several occasions that the ban on sale of drugs will be enforced but nothing ever came out of it. Therefore, before we embark on setting another deadline to enforce the ban, it would be good for all those involved to find out what happened in the past and why it proved difficult to fully implement it. Past efforts should be reviewed so that lessons can be learnt from there.
Drugs are very sensitive items and their handling should be managed well, so we support the ban on open sale of drugs in whatever form, especially hawking. In fact, it is embarrassing that as a nation, people are still seen hawking drugs on our streets. Items as delicate as drugs should not be exposed to the harsh weather conditions that this part of the world is associated with. Drugs are not like other items that one can pick up anywhere. Its storage matters because it affects potency. It is through hawkers that some people get hold of drugs that ordinarily, they should not have access to. So, we encourage all efforts at enforcing the ban.
The manner in which the ban is implemented is however very important. It is not enough to just mouth it but we must go all out. In Nigeria today, we are battling fake and adulterated drugs and such ban will help in tackling that. But we must go beyond mere ban of open sale of drugs. Not everyone is qualified to sell drugs or own a pharmaceutical store. There should be certain criteria that must be met before anyone is granted the licence to engage in that line of business. All patent medicine stores and dealers should be re-registered. They must also have the necessary tools to ensure proper preservation of drugs.
Furthermore, no mention was made about the unorthodox medicine sellers. Will the ban include them? Because a lot of Nigerians, especially in rural areas patronise them and the manner in which they dispense drugs leaves much to be desired. PCN and NAFDAC may want to also look in that direction too. We also do not think the December deadline is feasible. It ought to have been preceded by serious sensitisation of members of the public and the drugs sellers before now, which has not been done. This is because as critical stakeholders, they have a role to play in the success of the exercise. So, rather than fixing another deadline like has been done severally in the past, the public and drug sellers should be educated first.
We urge PCN to work closely with NAFDAC and all relevant agencies to ensure the success of this effort. Also, officers must be posted to all nooks and crannies of the country for monitoring in order to ensure that the ban is strictly enforced.