Olu Samuel, Lokoja

No fewer than 100 medicine stores have been shut down by the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate committee (PIC) in Kogi State.

The Kogi State Vice Chairman of PIC, Dr Lawal Muhammed Omuya disclosed this on Monday in a statement to mark this year World Pharmacist Day with the theme “Pharmacists Strengthening the Health System”.

Dr. Omuya, who doubles as the State Chairman Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria,(PSN) noted that PIC in Kogi State draw her membership from Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, (PSN), Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, (PCN) and staff of State Ministry of health using the instruments of PCN.

He explained that the body carried out the operation between January to September 2023 adding that, the body is working round the clock to put an end to quackery in Kogi State.

“Quackery in pharmaceutical practice can be looked at from professional and facilities angle. The professional angle has to do with people who are non-pharmacist both educated and non-educated presenting themselves as pharmacists in the society and thereby carrying or attempting to carry out the role of a pharmacist.

” On the second hand, we are also looking at facilities that exist in the community that are illegal, not in good standing with the pharmacy practice. These are drug stores that are stocked to the brim, giving an erroneous impression of a pharmacy, as people patronize them, thinking that these are registered pharmacies where they could get quality drugs and pharmaceutical services.

“We are currently addressing quackery on these two bases. The Pharmaceutical society of Nigeria in collaboration with Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, through the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate Committee, established in all the 36 States of the federation including FCT, go out routinely for monitoring and inspection, to ensure that we tackle this problem of quackery we have in our society. You will agree with me that this will require a lot of resources.

“When we go on routine monitoring and inspection, and we discover that a facility is existing illegally, it is outright shut down and be sealed. Then those that are not existing illegally which are licensed by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria for the purpose of providing pharmaceutical service to the community, but are falling short of the standard they are expected to operate, those facilities will be given what we called “compliance directive” within a specific time frame for them to meet up.

“If they are unable to meet up, we shut them down too. These are measures that we put in place to ensure that we have sanity in healthcare delivery. For individuals that are not supposed to be involved in pharmaceutical practice, they are made to face the full wrath of the law when they are caught. This is what led to shutting down over 100 medicine stores operating illegally and also arresting those who are quack in the system within these year”.

He used the medium to appeal to the Kogi State Government to collaborate with PSN and PCN to ensure that their activities can be carried out more effectively and efficiently by providing security, means of transport and other logistic needs for their operations.

On this year World Pharmacist Day, the Kogi State PSN explained that Pharmacist help to reduce health care costs, wastages, and improve health outcomes, including value for Nigerians money.

While admonishing Kogites to always consult Pharmacists on drug matters, Dr Omuya posited that, Pharmacists strengthen the health system through optimization of medication use and also reducing medication related burden thereby strengthening the health system of the nation”

World Pharmacists Day which is observed on 25th September annually marks the anniversary of the inception of International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) in 1912 and was adopted by the FIP Council in 2009.

The world Pharmacists Day campaign is led by FIP every year, with the theme chosen by the FIP Bureau.”