The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, (PCN) has kicked off its enforcement programme across the states in Nigeria in fulfillment of its mandate as stated in PCN ACT CAP P17, LFN, 2004.

In Anambra, a total of 779 were visited comprising 191 pharmacies and 588 patent medicine shops adding that 577 premises were sealed.

The sealed premises include 96 pharmacies and 481 patent medicine shops while 19 were issued compliance directives for various offences ranging from poor handling of controlled substances, sale and dispensing of ethical/prescription drugs without the supervision of a pharmacist, unhygienic environment, poor documentation among others.

Addressing journalists in Awka on Friday, PCN Director, Inspection and Monitoring, Pharm (Mrs) Anthonia Aruya, said that the action is geared at streamlining the drug distribution value chain to promote the provision of safe, effective and quality medicines distributed along registered and currently licenced premises.

She reeled out the premises to include where drugs are manufactured, distributed, wholesaler, retailed and warehoused.

Others are hospital pharmacies and the patent and proprietary medicines vendors’ shops.

The Director said: “The Pharmacist Council of Nigeria along with other regulatory agencies under the leadership of the Honourable Minister of Health is in the process of relocating all open drug markets to Coordinated Wholesale Centers where they will be properly regulated by the PCN and NAFDAC.”

She explained that the Council was in the state in continuation of its activities aimed at sanitising the systems better pharmaceutical services delivery to the good people of the state and the nation at large.

According to Aruya, premises seeking to be registered for the reason of providing pharmaceutical services are inspected in line with principles of good pharmacy practices (GPP) to ensure they meet up with the minimum acceptable standards of practice before they are licenced to operate.

Aruya added that licences are issued to stakeholders based on their training saying that medicines if not properly handled or administered can be injurious to the end user.

She warned that that any premises found selling and dispensing without approval or selling above their scope of operation such as sake and dispensing of ethical products without the presence of superintendent pharmacists or handling of controlled medicines by non-pharmacists is operating in violation of the law.