- The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has criticised the government's proposed new regulations for healthcare facilities, highlighting that they are unnecessary and potentially counterproductive
- The body of pharmacists further foregrounded the problems with inadequate funding for existing regulatory agencies and cited recent disruptions caused by budget issues
- The association urged the Federal Government to use discretion in its regulatory approach, criticised the inconsistency between claims of insufficient funds for current councils
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) raised concerns regarding the Government’s plan to implement new healthcare facility regulations, contending that the proposed changes are both unnecessary and potentially counterproductive.
In a statement from its chairman and secretary, Messrs Ambrose Eze and Omokhafe Ashore, on Thursday, August 29, the ACPN contended that the National Health Act of 2014, if properly enforced, could effectively tackle issues related to unregulated and substandard healthcare facilities.
“We share the enthusiasm of the Health Minister to deal with the menace of unregulated and substandard health facilities, but respectfully submit that this must be done in tandem with existing Acts of Parliament and logically the 1999 Constitution,” they stated.
ACPN highlights challenges in healthcare sector
The ACPN said, “Presently, there are a plethora of health statutes, including the National Health Act 2014, which are not activated for the benefit of consumers of health. The other leg of the menace of substandard health facilities has to do with the extremely wretched funding of the existing regulatory agencies in healthcare. Only recently an inexperienced and ill-tempered former Director General of the Budget Office almost destabilised the health sector by removing the 15 professional regulatory councils from the Appropriation Act of the Federal Government. It took the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Health to convince the Presidency and National Assembly of the unwholesome consequences of such moves before it was reversed.”
Pharmacists urge FG to exercise discretion
The body argued that establishing a new National Health Regulatory facility, as proposed by the Federal Government, would be an inefficient and wasteful use of resources.
The pharmacists further said, “The Federal Government must exercise discretion as it cannot continue to approbate and reprobate. In one swoop the Federal Government says it does not have money to cater for existing regulatory councils and in another vein it is contemplating setting up a new National Health Regulatory facility “which shall regulate across the country.”
Tinubu approves policy to ensure that healthcare experts don’t leave Nigeria
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the National Policy of Health Workforce Migration to address Nigeria’s health human resources challenges.
According to the report, the policy would ensure that the medical workforce is well-supported, adequately rewarded, and optimally utilised to meet Nigerians' healthcare needs.