Pharmacists under the aegis of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) have warned the federal government against further delay in adopting the National Prescription Policing (NPP) policy for implementation.

ACPN stated that immediate action in implementing the policy which had suffered abandonment over 10 years ago, due to unresolved conflicts amongst members of the committee, will be a turning point in the regulation of medicines prescription in the country.

National Chairman of ACPN, Pharm. Eze Ambrose Igwekanma, who commended the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMOH) for the renewed action on the NPP initiative, said “that an immediate launch of the NPP to pave way for its full implementation will be a watershed in the annals of healthcare and a big plus for the Health Sector under the watch of the Tinubu Administration.”

Citing bureaucracy and unnecessary intrigues as responsible for the setback in processing and adoption of the policy, ACPN advised the federal government to be wary of some of the challenges that stalled work on the NPP.

“We find it necessary to put on record that this current effort is not devoid of its own fair share of challenges which we have managed to work through.”

The pharmacists blamed the lukewarm attitude of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in taking expected action to actualise the objective of the project.

Igwekanma said, “The seeming non-committal posturing of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) at crucial junctures of the assignment was a huge disservice.

“It was most awkward in operational planning for an agency that registers drug products in Nigeria to maintain a lukewarm position on the appropriate categorisation of drugs in an evolving Prescription Policy for the country.”

ACPN did not spare the Foods and Drugs Department of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for the slow process that affected the NPP policy. The association alleged in the document that the FMOH “through its policy unit almost bungled the NPP initiative like it did with the discredited and rejected Drug Revolving Fund (DRF) Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Federal Health Institutions (FHIs).

“On at least three occasions the Food and Drugs Department was mandated to provide technical information to guide the committee on key subject matters, which it failed to deliver in all the referred junctures.”

In the document signed by Igwekanma, the pharmacists called for effective oversight on the department to avoid such bureaucratic lapses that may prove too costly in the future.

He warned against the tendencies of some stakeholders to uphold their professional and group interest over that of the consuming public, citing a “request by a stakeholder to present the committee work before the National Executive Committee (NEC) of his organisation for approval before the entire country could implement the extracts of the NPP committee, but the demand was turned by the Chairman.”

While ACPN commended the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) and some of the other Professional Regulatory Councils for providing stabilisation at stress junctures associated with the assignment, the association advised the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to ensure that such critical assignment as the NPP committee is handled by experienced and exposed representatives of key stakeholders,

“The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare must see the need to get the Presidency to work in alignment with the enabling statutes of the various Professional Regulatory Councils to guarantee the unhindered discharge of their routine responsibilities under the law for quality management inherent in positive health outcomes.”

It appealed to the Federal Ministry of Health for improved funding for the PCN to enable it cope with the new dimensions of ensuring that only registered facilities dispense medicines in accordance with prescriptions from legitimate prescribers within the purview the Poison and Pharmacy Act Cap 535 LFN 1990.

ACPN insisted that Pharmacy-specific functions can no longer be underfunded or neglected as it must now be designated as a priority regulatory focus and concern. (AriseNews TV)