Pharmacists Allege Health Ministry Uses Quacks for Family Planning Project
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has raised the alarm over a plan by the Federal Ministry of Health to involve untrained hands in the sale and dispensing of high grade medicines like steroidal in the country.
National Chairman of ACPN, Sam Adekola, said the ACPN was surprised that the Health Ministry in collaboration with some international Non-Government Organisations had concluded plans to employ the services of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors Licence (PPMVL) holders to implement fresh dimensions of Family Planning services in the country including “sales and dispensing of both oral and injectable contraceptives” on the belief that that the Patent Medicine Vendors had enough numbers to service the rural communities in Nigeria, describing it as an absurdity.
He said “any plot or scheme to involve untrained hands in the sale and dispensing of high grade medicines like steroidal preparations under the hypocrisy of accessibility to health or some other availability expediencies to provide unprofessionally inclined services to consumers of health will only make them more vulnerable to morbidity and mortality.”
According to Adekola, after a critical study of the development, the body of Community Pharmacists in the country advise the Federal Ministry of Health and the international NGOs on the need to engage the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) which registers PPMVL holders in the country since it was a parastatal under the Ministry. “Such rules of engagement will confirm that the number of registered PPMVL holders in Nigeria will be less than 50,000; a proof that available registered PPMVL will not be enough in the execution of this “unholy implementation plan.
He blamed the over two million unregistered PPMLs in the country on the government's poor response to the issue. “Typical unresponsiveness of Government is what allows the existence of about two million unregistered PPMVLs which are common-place all over Nigeria.