Dayo Oyewo
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has called on the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, to consider exploring the vast potential of the pharmaceutical sector and its significant contribution to the nation’s economy.
The chairman of the Lagos State branch, Gbolagade Iyiola, in a statement on Saturday said this would contribute significantly to the sector.
Iyiola also commended Tinubu for his intervention in the affairs of pharmacists while he governed Lagos, particularly when the state Ministry of Health came up with a policy to privatise public sector pharmacies in all its hospitals.
The statement read, “The PSN Lagos State finds it necessary to draw the attention of the president-elect to the vast potentials of the Pharmaceutical Sector to contribute significantly to the real sector and ultimately national GDP through the development of a petrochemical industry that paves way for the true industrial revolution that will reposition Nigeria as the hub for new pharmaceutical investments.
“The PSN Lagos State will be the fulcrum to engineer a development that makes Lagos, the centre of excellence, the favourite destination in pharmaceuticals for Africa in the next few years if the president-elect chooses to accept our modest challenge.
“Pharmacists in Lagos State remember his interventions while he was helmsman in his first tenure as governor between 1999 and 2003. In 2002, the Lagos State Ministry of Health had come up with a policy to privatise public sector pharmacies in all its hospitals canvassing a position that there will be no active need for pharmacy practice in the public service in Lagos State.
“Opinion leaders in pharmacy had to draw the attention of then Governor Bola Tinubu to this heresy before a truce could be reached between the Lagos State Government, PSN and PCN in that dispensation.”
The body also called on the president-elect to critically appraise the Charter of Demands of PSN submitted to him since November 2022.
According to Iyiola, the demand includes changing the approach and tactics in the appointment of ministers for the Federal Ministry of Health and the Chief Executive Officers of MDAs in the health sector.
“We also want improvement on the welfare of public sector pharmacists and the generality of health workers to stem the tide of brain drain in our country, an executive bill for a Bank of Health as well as attaining Universal Health Coverage and the proper implementation of National Health Insurance Authority Act 2022.
“In addition, the need to enable local manufacturing of drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients and related matters, better funding of healthcare and consideration of issues constraining the natural development of Pharmacy,” the statement added.
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