MICHAEL AKINOLA
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN, has urged the Federal Government to immediately adopt a ‘Pharmacy First’ policy that will allow community pharmacies across the country to serve as first-line centres for early detection of suspected Ebola cases and other infectious diseases.
The association said if Nigeria wants to prevent another deadly outbreak, it must urgently integrate community pharmacists into the national disease surveillance architecture, noting that their presence in every community makes them the most accessible health professionals for early detection and referral.
In a position statement released after its press conference in Lagos and signed by its National Chairman, Pharm. Ezeh Ambrose, the ACPN called on federal and state health authorities to formally recognize community pharmacies as critical partners in epidemic surveillance and primary health care delivery.
According to the association, deploying the protocol across all 774 Local Government Areas of Nigeria would take early symptom identification closer to the grassroots, especially in underserved communities where hospitals and clinics are either too far or overcrowded.
“We consider it necessary to sensitise and mobilise the Federal Government to approve specific investment plans to leverage the Pharmacy First Initiative as a front-line Ebola detection protocol, which stands as one of the best mechanisms to catalyse Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria,” the statement said.
The ACPN explained that the initiative is not just about dispensing drugs but expanding the role of community pharmacies to include health education, early symptom recognition, basic screening and immediate referral of persons showing symptoms suggestive of Ebola or other highly infectious diseases.
It noted that properly equipped community pharmacies can function as first-contact health points, helping to detect suspected cases early and direct them to designated health facilities for proper testing and management.
The association added that such a system would strengthen referral pathways, support contact tracing, ensure suspected cases get timely advice on isolation and reduce the risk of cross-infection in secondary and tertiary hospitals.
“At the centre of strategising for epidemic response and Universal Health Coverage, governments at all levels must structure community pharmacies to provide first-line Ebola screening and Primary Health Care services through better access to essential drugs and management of uncomplicated diseases, which ultimately reduces the burden of services on secondary and tertiary health facilities,” it stated.
To be able to take on this expanded responsibility, the ACPN charged its members nationwide to upgrade their facilities, embrace modern pharmacy practice models and invest in quality service delivery in line with Good Pharmacy Practice, GPP.
“In view of changing times, Community Pharmacists must respond accordingly to explore investment opportunities with free funds to achieve the goals of Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) in the realistic interest of patients,” the association said.
The body, however, lamented that weak policy leadership, poor digital integration, inadequate evidence generation, poor quality assurance and lack of collaboration among health professionals remain major obstacles to epidemic preparedness in Nigeria.
To fix the gaps, it proposed a five-point reform agenda focused on creating a unified vision for epidemic preparedness, improving clinical quality and public trust, integrating digital technology and data-driven surveillance into pharmacy practice, strengthening collaboration with Primary Health Care Centres and building partnerships with health insurance providers.
It also called for a standardized reporting system that will allow community pharmacies to transmit surveillance data directly to national health databases for real-time monitoring of disease patterns.
Citing global examples, the ACPN said community pharmacy networks in countries like the United Kingdom helped sustain access to essential healthcare during public health emergencies when hospitals were overwhelmed.
Pharm. Ezeh warned that any delay in establishing grassroots surveillance could expose health workers and Nigerians to avoidable risks.
“We cannot afford to repeat past missteps where delayed grassroots surveillance allowed outbreaks to spiral out of control. If the Federal Government fails to integrate community pharmacies into this primary protocol, our major hospitals will inevitably become ground zero for cross-infection, overwhelmed before an outbreak is even fully mapped,” he said.
He therefore appealed to President Bola Tinubu to issue an executive directive for immediate implementation of the protocol, stressing that community pharmacies are already present in all 774 LGAs and require zero new infrastructure.
“Every day of delay places an unnecessary burden on our tertiary hospitals and leaves millions of Nigerians without accessible early detection. We urge President Bola Tinubu to issue the enabling policy directive today, and our national network will activate the ‘Pharmacy First’ screening protocol within 48 hours,” he declared.
