Association Opposes Creation of New Health Commissions

The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has urged the National Assembly to halt the creation of new health commissions being proposed in the amendment of the National Health Act (NHA), describing the move as wasteful, duplicative, and economically unrealistic.

The position of the association was contained in a statement signed by its National Chairman, Pharm. Ambrose Ezeh, following a public hearing on the proposed amendments.

According to the ACPN, various interest groups at the hearing had pushed for the establishment of a Surrogacy Commission, a Tertiary Health Institutions Commission, and a Sickle Cell Commission. However, the association argued that these proposals amount to unnecessary duplication, noting that the existing National Health Act already provides for regulatory structures such as the National Tertiary Health Institutions Standards Committee (NTHISC), which has the lawful mandate to regulate tertiary hospitals.

While acknowledging the significant burden of sickle cell disease in Nigeria, the association criticised the proposal to establish multiple sickle cell centres simultaneously, describing it as unrealistic in the current fiscal climate. It noted that existing national research institutions, including the Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) and the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), remain severely underfunded.

“Presently, NIPRD does not enjoy a recurrent or capital expenditure budget of up to N20 million monthly. It is difficult to justify creating new centres when the current ones are struggling for survival,” the statement read.

The ACPN also dismissed the proposed organogram for the new centres as “unprecedented and ridiculous,” recommending instead the establishment of a single, centralised Sickle Cell Research Institute. This, it said, would support the 73 federal health institutions and bolster advanced research without overstretching limited funds.

It also drew attention to the ongoing strike by the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), which began on November 15, 2025, and is fueled by 12-year unpaid entitlements and worsening working conditions.

The association stressed that Nigeria’s limited health funding should compel lawmakers toward “very realistic and sustainable” policy options, rather than expanding administrative structures that will further drain resources.