Community Pharmacists Seek Government Support to Cut Essential Medicine Costs
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria has urged the Federal and state governments to provide stronger financial, regulatory and institutional support for community pharmacies. The group says this could lower the cost of essential medicines and improve access to healthcare, especially for vulnerable and rural communities. At its 45th annual conference in Abuja, officials highlighted policies aimed at reducing pharmaceutical production costs, including the suspension of import duties and taxes on key pharmaceutical inputs. The association also called for community pharmacies to be integrated into state health-insurance schemes and primary healthcare networks. The ACPN warned that more than 9,500 pharmacists have left Nigeria in recent years, worsening pressure on the health system. It proposed tougher penalties for counterfeit-drug dealers, a National Drug Management Agency, and a National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy to strengthen medicine security and specialist training. The association said better use of community pharmacies for services such as blood-pressure and diabetes screening, malaria care, family planning and medicine-safety surveillance could help decongest hospitals and bring affordable care closer to Nigerians.
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