By Chioma Obinna
Pharmaceutical wholesalers last week in Lagos said that effective good distribution practices in both public and private sectors of healthcare will guarantee efficacious, quality, and safe drug products in the country.
The pharmaceutical wholesalers under the auspices of the Pharmaceutical Wholesalers Association of Nigeria, PWDAN, regretted that drug distribution in Nigeria started on an adventurous project without the requisite foundation said the practice has been evolving and dynamic with the coming regulators updating ways to curb the challenges posed for decades.
Speaking during the 2023 Annual National Conference of PWDAN entitled: “Strengthening the Pharma Supply Chain: Panacea to Good Distribution Practice and Medicine Security”, the Chairman, Pharm. Ernest Okafor asserted that although, the road is rough, and journey far, COVID-19 has thrown up many challenges and interests that many economies need to go back to the drawing board in their quest for an effective distribution/supply management system.
“Pharmaceutical wholesale distribution remains the hub and in no doubt occupies a pivotal position in the supply value chain. Contrary to these expectations, this segment is known to harbor a great percentage of infractions as recorded.
“Therefore, in order to ensure an efficient and effective drug management system, a well–ordered drug distribution has always been advocated. To achieve these goals, one of the cardinal objectives of PWDAN is to change the narrative by bringing the pharma supply in Nigeria to a new era of global best practices through good distribution practice benchmarking and collaborating with value chain stakeholders and regulators,” Okafor added. Speaking, the National President of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN, Pharm Adewale Oladigbolu who noted that pharmaceuticals are not just ordinary items of trade said there are approved channels of distribution for pharma products, hence, the need for players to adhere to it.
According to Oladigbolu, to attain medicine security in Nigeria, every pharma product consumed by Nigerians must come from a traceable source which is through the approved channel.
“Now if that structure is not there that means we don’t have medicine security in Nigeria”
He explained that a nation is not secured until all commodities including the pharmaceuticals that people are consumed are secured. “We all saw what COVID-19 did, we saw the restrictions on importation of medicines from Europe, even from India. What are they saying, go and die, we are not going to give you medicines. If we are producing these medicines locally, who will tell you not to have access, no, it means we are not secure as a nation. Our medicines that will be determined whether people die or live are still coming from other countries. So if those people seized supply, then we will have problems on our hands. The conference is pointing towards something that we should do something to ensure that there is security on the supply chain channel.”
He regretted that the National Drug Distribution Guideline that would have guaranteed the security of medicines to some extent was yet to be implemented.
Speaking,the Registrar, Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, PCN, Pharm. I. B. Ahmed, said the theme of the conference was apt as Nigeria and the rest of the sub-Saharan, Africa are experiencing challenges in the pharmaceutical supply chain, especially with the global sourcing of active and inactive pharmaceutical ingredients in addition to the emergence of biopharmaceuticals.
Stating that PCN has repositioned itself for Good Regulatory Practices, he said that the regulatory agency has attained WHO Maturity Level 3. Meaning that it has established a stable well-functioning integrated regulatory system.
Represented by a Deputy Director with the Inspection, Monitoring & Quality Assurance Unit, PCN Lagos zonal Office, Solomon Shiihii, he said: “It is also worthy of note that we are working assiduously toward attaining maturity level 4, which is the advanced level of performance and continuous improvement. Additionally, in the same fit, PCN has gained ISO certification and is now a Quality Management System driven organization for regulatory systems strengthening.
Ahmed said the passage of the new PCN Act into law will make regulation better.
He announced that the Federal High Court, on June 30, 2023, in Kano, dismissed the suit challenging the directives of the PCN to the owners of all drug shops in the open market to close down their operations and relocate to the newly commissioned Coordinated Wholesales Centres.
Source: Vanguard