Brain Drain: Nearly 10,000 Pharmacists Left Nigeria In Five Years – ACPN 

The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has expressed concern over the worsening exodus of pharmacists from the country, revealing that nearly 10,000 professionals have emigrated in the last five years in search of better career opportunities abroad.

Speaking on Tuesday at the opening of the 45th Annual National Scientific Conference of the ACPN held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Scientific Conference Centre in Abuja, the National Chairman of the association, Pharm. Ambrose Ezeh, warned that the growing brain drain poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s healthcare delivery and pharmaceutical industry.

According to Ezeh, records from the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) indicate that about 9,000 pharmacists left the country in the four-and-a-half years leading to December 2026, while an additional 850 obtained letters of good standing from the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) in the first half of 2026 alone, a prerequisite for practising overseas.

“The fortunes of the profession continue to plummet rather dangerously in recent years,” he said.

“Data at the PSN National Secretariat confirm the exit of about 9,000 pharmacists in the four-and-a-half years preceding December 2026. The first six months of 2026 have not been significantly better, as over 850 pharmacists have collected letters of good standing from the PCN and moved on to countries like Canada, the UK, Australia and, to a much lesser extent, the USA and some Asian territories.”

He attributed the mass migration to poor remuneration, inadequate workforce development policies and the government’s failure to fully implement the National Drug Distribution Guidelines introduced in 2015.

Ezeh also lamented the absence of a comprehensive public drug procurement policy, saying it continues to weaken the pharmaceutical profession and expose patients to unsafe medicines.

“Some of the glaring challenges are the not-too-impressive reward system and the poor drug distribution system, which impinges on the image of the profession,” he said.

The ACPN chairman urged the Federal Government to sponsor executive bills aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector.

He identified three priority reforms: the amendment of the Fake Drug Act, the establishment of a Federal Drug Management Agency or Drug Revolving Fund (DRF) Agency, and the creation of a National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy.

On counterfeit medicines, Ezeh argued that existing penalties are too lenient to deter offenders, thereby discouraging investment in the pharmaceutical industry.

“The activities of charlatans are not encouraging pharma investors because of the extremely feeble sanction culture the Fake Drug Act offers,” he said.

He proposed a 20-year jail term for first-time offenders, while repeat offenders should face life imprisonment and forfeiture of all identified assets.

The ACPN also renewed its call for legislation to institutionalise the Drug Revolving Fund system, noting that although the National Council on Health resolved in December 2024 that all public procurement of medicines should be channelled through the DRF framework, implementation has remained weak due to institutional shortcomings.

Ezeh further advocated the establishment of a National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy to produce specialist pharmacists in manufacturing, clinical pharmacy, community pharmacy, public health pharmacy and other specialised fields.

He noted that Nigeria currently bears more than 95 per cent of the funding burden of the West Africa Postgraduate College of Pharmacists after several member countries, including Ghana, established their own national institutions.

“Only Nigeria funds the subsidy gap of over 95 per cent to nurture the sub-regional college in forex. This should be a cause for concern for Nigerian authorities,” he said.

Beyond the workforce crisis, the ACPN declared that drug abuse has become a national emergency.

Citing the 2018 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) survey, Ezeh said more than 21.2 million Nigerians abuse one form of psychoactive substance or another.

He listed cannabis, opioids, codeine-based cough syrups, sedatives, ecstasy, solvents, inhalants and cocaine among the most commonly abused substances.

“We currently have 21,213,000 people who abuse various substances. This confirms the fact that drug abuse is a cankerworm eating really deep into the fibre of Nigerian society,” he said.

According to him, factors driving the crisis include dysfunctional family structures, youth unemployment, poverty, peer pressure, weak regulation of prescription medicines, porous borders, the influence of social media and corruption at the nation’s ports.

To tackle the menace, the ACPN called for stricter enforcement of drug control laws, tougher sanctions for traffickers and unlicensed drug dispensers, stronger regulation of controlled medicines and the establishment of more rehabilitation centres nationwide.

Ezeh also urged the Federal Government to deepen collaboration with professional bodies such as the PSN and ACPN in public enlightenment campaigns against substance abuse.

“Government must ensure that law enforcement agencies like the NDLEA, PCN, NAFDAC, Police and the Judiciary are adequately equipped and rewarded for the good work they do,” he said.

“On the other hand, officers who engage in drug use should be severely punished and dismissed from service to serve as a deterrent.”

He expressed optimism that the conference would pave the way for stronger collaboration between government and pharmacy professionals in addressing Nigeria’s healthcare, drug distribution and workforce challenges.