Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has exposed an illegal drug distribution network in public health institutions in the country.
The organised racket, according to ACPN, is being perpetrated with active connivance of the hospital management and some pharmaceutical companies.
The National Chairman ACPN, Pharm Ambrose Ezeh, alleged Federal Ministry of Health’s complicity in the unlawful business which he said undermines statutory provisions governing pharmaceutical control in the country.
ACPN frowned at the “unethical misconduct” of some pharma companies and their Superintendent Pharmacists who have been running practices albeit unlawfully in some Federal Health Institutions (FHIs) with tacit endorsement of both hospital managements as well as the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), declaring that it was time to put a stop to the unwholesome practices.
It called on the federal government to sanction pharmacists and pharmaceutical companies as well as government officials involved in the illegality.
The association described the involvement of agencies of government in such illegality as ‘’travesty of justice and the rule of law.”
‘’The Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) which ordinarily should exercise oversight functions on the Federal Health Institutions (FHIs) which flagrantly break the law, has certainly not exculpated itself from the unending vicious cycle of aberrant outputs in drug distribution models in the public sector through its various experiments with Medipool and other unlawful models of PPPs which only emboldens its various appendages in the value chain of the MDAs in the health sector to work in similar spirit with reckless abandon.”
The association also warned all Superintendent Pharmacists whose licenses are illegally used to cover the unlawful operations of private sector pharmacies in public health facilities to normalise their operations with their management before the end of 2025 or risk disciplinary actions.
“We find it imperative to remind the FMoH and the management of the FHIs that the choice of running sustainable Drug Revolving Funds (DRF) is dictated by the old decree 43 of 1989 (now Cap 252 LFN 2004) which established the Essential Drug List (EDL) for Public Health Institutions with the attendant DRF manuals.”
He explained that the DRF makes the concept functional and sustainable when the Pharmacist/Project Manager is allowed to dictate the pace as well as exercise lawful superintendence and administrative inclination which makes it succeed.
He identified some illegal practices which he described as the ‘Nigerian factor’ as impeding the implementation of the scheme.
“The usual challenge of allowing the ‘Nigerian Factor’ to override every potentially fruitful venture in Nigeria, has forced us to watch almost hopelessly over time while the CMDs/MDs of FHIs plundered the resources of DRF.”
He noted that “The flagship of the various DRFs in our FHIs was the unprecedented achievement of the department of Pharmacy, NOH, Igbobi where Pharmacists built a Pharmacy House worth over N200m without decapitating the DRF in 2014, a feat which has never been equalled by any other team of health professionals or health institution in the annals of health funding or management in our country. Sadly, despite all timely entreaties to the FMOH on emerging absurdities to the DRF in that institution and others between 2020 and 2022, the FMOH didn’t wield the big stick.”
Ezeh said that ACPN will continue to prevail on the federal government to strengthen the financing of drug procurement in federal hospitals.
“ACPN will continue to sensitise the federal and state governments that financing gaps weaken access, equity and quality of care in the middle level cadre of procurement and distribution of drugs as well as medical consumables in the totality of care provisioning in our sector.
“Rather than embark on the many fruitless endeavours, the FMoH and its FHIs have indulged to redress supply gaps in drug availability in public health institutions, the realistic way forward, it said, is to embrace lawful provisions in the statutes and financing of the pharmaceutical supply chain.”
This he said can be achieved through strengthening of local drug manufacturing by credit guarantees, fair and legitimate procurement practices and working capital lines (DRF accounts) and to ensure drug security and reduce out of stock syndrome.
In order to sustain ACPN’s policy of Good Pharmacy Practice Nigeria (GPP) in all the 73 FHIs in Nigeria, the association, he said, would ensure that all “models of PPP presently embraced on by the FMoH and some of the FHIs across the country are unlawful because they are a breach of the PCN Act 2022 in the reflected areas Section 22(1), and insists that only registered and inspected pharmacies are permitted to store, dispense, distribute or sell drugs.”
ACPN said it will also uphold Section 27(5) which prohibits the operations of privately-owned pharmacies in public health facilities as well as Section 29 which compels all pharmacies to have Superintendent Pharmacists in control of their operations.
Ezeh also reminded practitioners that under Section 54 (and Section 1:1 and 2:1 of the Fake Drug Act) it is a criminal offence to run unregistered Pharmacies and prohibition of sales of drugs in places not registered by PCN in Nigeria.
On Medipool, ACPN stated that, “affected FHIs and the FMoH which advances Medipool are in violation of the Public Procurement Act 2007 which advocates competitive open bidding to pave the way for transparency in all levels of procurement process in Nigeria.”
Consequently, “the over 20 pharmaceutical premises engaged in PPPs in our FHIs are all unregistered for such within the confines of these FHIs.”
It revealed that “one of the most aggressive companies in this regards is a company based in GRA, Ikeja, Lagos State, where it is registered for pharmaceutical business but it has taken over the pharmacy of a prominent Nigerian teaching hospital, while it continues to rampage in other FHIs dropping the name of senior government officials and even the PCN as endorsing its operations.”
ACPN warned Superintendent Pharmacists who are involved in the illegal business to stop or face sanctions.
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