The Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy is billed to brainstorm on expanding the roles of pharmacists to incorporate primary healthcare in greater depth, to fast-track universal health access by Nigerians.
The ceremony, which will see the investiture of 15 accomplished pharmacists into its esteemed ranks, has primary health care as the theme.
The investiture, billed for October 22, in Lagos, will have as its guest speaker respected clinical pharmacist and practitioner, Dr. Teresa Pounds, who is the Pharmacy Residency Program Director and the Manager of the Clinical Pharmacy Services at Wellstar Atlanta Medical Centre in the United States, as well as President of the Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas.
According to the secretary of the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy, Prof. Fola Tayo, the health profession is in a continuous state of flux and all over the world emphasis is placed increasingly on optimizing the value which each profession can bring to the table for the benefit of mankind.
Tayo, who is also the Pro-Chancellor of Caleb University, explained that across the world, it is becoming increasingly evident that with the proximity and accessibility of pharmacists to the community, there is an imperative to deploy these advantages to help redress primary healthcare challenges.
“Across the US, millions of Americans are receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations in their neighbourhood pharmacies. They need not necessarily go all the way to the medical centre or clinic if there is a pharmacy nearby. This is just one indication of how things are changing in the way people access healthcare around the world.”
“Given the urgency to redress Nigeria’s rather unpalatable healthcare indices, the country needs to embrace new thinking and new approaches in redressing its healthcare challenges. Pharmacists are trained at a huge cost to the state and are an immense resource, which Nigeria can benefit a lot more from than she is currently doing. Enhancing their roles in primary healthcare would translate to added value for the country,” he stated.
Accomplished pharmacists – teachers, researchers, industry practitioners and others – are expected to be inducted into the elite academy later in the month. Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, is expected to grace the investiture, alongside a host of several distinguished players in the healthcare sector.
Founded in 2014, the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy seeks to continuously contribute to efforts to enable Nigeria to advance universal health access via drug research and development, the study and teaching of pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sciences as well as pharmaceutical practice in all ramifications.
