WAPCP Conference: Pharmacists Seek Better Medicine Security Through Compounding
The West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP), Abuja Zone, has stressed the importance of drug compounding, mini-production, and quality control services in health facilities to improve medicines’ availability and quality.
The pharmacists stated this during their 6th Annual Scientific Conference over the weekend.
In his welcome address, WAPCP Zonal Coordinator Dr Abubakar Danraka emphasised that these services can improve patient care and guarantee positive treatment outcomes, particularly in the current healthcare landscape where fake and substandard medicines are prevalent in Nigeria.
To leverage these benefits, Danraka noted that policymakers and practitioners should advocate and insist on “establishing these basic units in secondary and tertiary level care hospitals with clear guidelines and standards for optimal operations, providing training and capacity building for pharmacists and investing in equipment, facilities, and quality control measures to assure effective operations of these units.”
Also speaking, the Chairman of the occasion, Pharm Boniface Ikwu, noted that medicine insecurity has become a front-burner security issue in Nigeria, with detrimental consequences on the health of citizens, particularly those with chronic illnesses and vulnerable populations.
Ikwu, who is the Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Health Services and Environmental Secretariat (Federal Capital Territory Administration), emphasised that drug compounding and quality control in health institutions can act as a panacea to medicine supply shortages while addressing availability and safety concerns.
“It will bring down costs of medications to the populace while also improving local production capacity and experience in this regard over time,” he said.
On the sub-theme of “The Role of Consultant Pharmacists in Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practice in Nigeria”, the speaker, Pharm Kingsley Nnalue, stated that consultant pharmacists can play a crucial role in integrating traditional medicine with conventional healthcare practices.
Nnalue, who is the Director/Head of Research and Development at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Abuja, noted that traditional medicine is a rich gold mine that can be tapped to benefit the Nigerian populace, particularly in underserved communities.
Nnalue emphasised the need to standardise traditional medicine services and integrate them into the modern healthcare delivery system.
He stated that consultant pharmacists are well-positioned to champion this effort due to their knowledge of pharmacognosy and research skills.
The highlight of the occasion was the keynote address by Pharm. Jelili Kilani, Deputy Director, Pharmacy Department, National Hospital, Abuja, on the topic “Drug Compounding, Mini-Production and Quality Control in Health Institutions: A Panacea for Medicines Availability and Safety Challenges”, and the welcoming of new inductees into the College.
WAPCP Conference: Pharmacists Seek Better Medicine Security Through Compounding is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
