By Dave Okpogadie, Asaba
Nigerians have been advised to shun drug abuse in order to avoid the disastrous health effects associated with such abuse.
The national chairman, Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigerian, Dr. Kingsley Amibor gave the advice in Asaba while speaking with journalists as part of programmes lined up to mark this year’s World Pharmacists Day with the theme: “Transforming Global Health; The Role of Pharmacists”.
Dr. Amibor said the only way out of drugs abuse and other related effects on those who indulge in it is to dismantle what he called, “open drugs market” nationwide.
He said once this open drug
market is completely eliminated, fake drugs would give way to safe medicine.
The national chairman pleaded with governments and other stakeholders in the health sector to empower the regulatory bodies to deal with perpetrators of fake drugs, saying the ugly trend has resulted in the death of thousands of Nigerians.
Amibor also advised the Federal Ministry of Health to encourage pharmacists to play their roles in transforming the health sector.
He noted, with regret, that the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria operates below 30 percent because of the challenges facing it.
According to the pharmacist, “it is hard to believe that efforts of NAFDAC and others are not yielding positive results, as substandard drugs still flood markets”.
Speaking further, Dr. Amibor disclosed that about 50 pharmacists had contacted the dreaded COVID-19 virus while two have died, across the country since the out-break of the pandemic
“All experts in the health sector”, he said, “are working round the clock in search of vaccines for the disease’.
World Pharmacists Day is celebrated on September 25 each year, globally and is the brain child of the International Pharmaceutical Federation aimed at encouraging activities that promote the role of the pharmacist in improving the health of the people.