WPD: Empowerment Of Pharmacists Will Reduce Shortage Of Manpower – PSN Chair

Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) branch, Salamatu Orakwelu, has stressed the need to empower pharmacists towards reducing the shortage of manpower in the country.

She made the call in Abuja during the commemoration of the World Pharmacists Day (WPD) which is globally celebrated on 25th September every year.

Orakwelu said the current mass exit of pharmacists from the country for reasons such as the quest for greener pastures, can be curbed by simply empowering pharmacists with the wherewithal to function optimally.

“When you talk about empowering pharmacists, it is all-encompassing. If, for instance, we take it from the angle of shortage of manpower, if we are being empowered in terms of working to the capacity we are expected to work, people will not be leaving this country.

“There are a lot of people who are not satisfied with the services we render, and too, our services here are not being appreciated enough,” Orakwelu said.
Also at the event, renowned pharmacist and founder of MOPSON Pharmaceuticals Limited, Dr Michael Paul

Oyebanjo, urged the government and regulatory authorities to create enabling environments for young and aspiring pharmacists and professionals to explore the huge potential embedded in drug manufacturing.

“For the people who make the laws, they should make it such that it empowers the young pharmacists to be capable of producing. Like for the private hospitals, there is nothing wrong in making antacids.

“These things used to happen before. But these days, a pharmacist cannot start manufacturing drugs because he has to register it. So, a young pharmacist who is just coming in may not be able to succeed in this regard,” stated the pharmaceutical guru.

The keynote speaker of the event was the Registrar of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), Pharm. Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, and he stated during his address that there is an urgent need for the pharmacists of the future to be digitally literate and be able to utilize the trending artificial intelligence (AI) innovation to solve the subsisting problems in the pharmaceutical sector.

“The pharmacist of the future must therefore be digitally literate without surrendering professional judgment to technology. We must innovate while remaining grounded in evidence, ethics and the protection of the public,” stated the PCN boss.

The chairman of the local organizing council (LOC) of this year’s WPD celebration, Dr. Abubakar Danraka, stated that there has been a lot of achievements in the pharmaceutical sector over the last one year which essentially includes the recognition for specialists’ services by the Federal Ministry of Health.

“We are not yet where we are supposed to be, but at least, we have left where we were. Over 40 federal health institutions have implemented the consultant pharmacist cadre. The remaining less than 50 of them, they need to do the needful so that Nigerians can benefit from the expertise of pharmacists in preventing drug therapy problems,” stated Danraka.

The major highlight of this year’s WPD which was tagged “Empowering Pharmacists for Healthier Futures,” was the launching and donation towards the completion of the PSN/FCT secretariat project which is still ongoing.