Group canvasses increase in community pharmacy services nationwide

Apharmaceutical inventory management subscription service, Shelf Life, has called for increase in community pharmacy across the country. This, it said, will checkmate the distribution of fake drugs at the community level.

In a statement signed by the Head Pharmacist, Shelf Life Nigeria, Suleman Sule, the group stressed that community pharmacy remains critical to accessible healthcare in Nigeria.

According to him, over 100 pharmacies registered in its network have achieved over 96 percent availability on over 500 life-saving medicines and essential products.

Recall that at the 91st Annual Conference of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), pharmacists had decried the dearth of community pharmacists in the country,

calling for a deliberate action to grow the number of registered community pharmacists.

They said Nigeria needs 50,000 registered community pharmacists in the next five years.

Sule pointed out that the presence of community pharmacy will not only increase patient safety but also improve clinical decision making, service efficiency as well as improved quality of care.

According to him, the group has presence in other states of the federation, with head office in Abuja. Beyond Nigeria, it also extends its services to other nations in the African continent including Kenya.

He said: “There are over 100,000 community pharmacies and drug shops in Nigeria, compared to approximately 26,000 public health facilities. This makes community pharmacy a critical component of accessible healthcare for Nigerians”.