Professor Vincent Idemyor, a leading clinical pharmacologist and health-systems scholar at the University of Port Harcourt has issued a stark warning that climate change is already destabilising the world’s medicine supply and quietly endangering patients, urging global health leaders to rethink how pharmacy responds to a warming planet.
The pharmacy expert and previous recipient of the prestigious Donald E. Francke Award, delivered the message recently at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting in Las Vegas. The conference, regarded as the world’s largest forum for health-system pharmacists, draws more than 20,000 practitioners, administrators and policymakers each year.
Addressing the international audience, Idemyor presented a bold, evidence-driven framework for confronting climate-related health emergencies, arguing that the pharmacy profession can no longer treat climate change as a peripheral issue. “The pharmaceutical supply chain has consolidated around too few critical facilities,” he warned. “When one or two sites are damaged, the effects ripple globally. This level of systemic fragility demands coordinated action from government, industry and academia.”
Drawing on recent research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the seasoned scholar noted that over 60 per cent of drug manufacturing facilities in the United States are located in regions prone to climate disasters. Hurricanes, floods, wildfires and extreme heat, he said, now routinely disrupt production, quality testing and distribution, with consequences that extend far beyond national borders.
He cited the intravenous fluid shortages that followed Hurricane Helene in 2024 as a poignant example of how climate shocks can rapidly translate into clinical crises. “We are witnessing climate events directly compromise patient care,” Idemyor said. “This is no longer a future risk; it is a present reality.”
Beyond infrastructure and logistics, the internationally trained pharmacologist highlighted the dangerous interaction between commonly prescribed medicines and rising temperatures. Many widely used drugs, including diuretics, beta blockers, antidepressants and antipsychotics, can impair the body’s ability to regulate heat, significantly increasing the risk of heat-related illness during prolonged heatwaves.
“The effects of medications on heat tolerance, and the effects of heat on drug metabolism, must be emphasised in healthcare education worldwide,” he said. “This is a patient safety issue affecting millions, yet it remains under-recognised.”
The UNIPORT don also underscored the deep inequities embedded in climate-related health impacts. Older adults, young children, people with chronic illnesses, pregnant women and low-income communities, he noted, bear a disproportionate share of the burden. Older adults face reduced thermoregulation and declining organ function, while children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution from wildfires and ground-level ozone.
To address these layered challenges, the renowned academic proposed applying the Triple Helix model, a collaborative approach that aligns government policy, academic research and industrial capacity. Under this framework, governments would enforce supply-chain transparency and invest in preparedness, industry would diversify and climate-proof manufacturing, and universities would train a resilient health workforce while generating actionable climate-risk evidence.
“No single sector can solve this challenge alone,” Idemyor told delegates. “Only sustained collaboration across government, industry and academia can ensure health systems recover quickly from climate disruptions.”
He also challenged the healthcare sector to confront its own environmental footprint. Citing established research, he noted that the US healthcare system produces approximately 217 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, with hospitals responsible for about three per cent of national emissions. “Healthcare faces a dual responsibility,” he said. “We must adapt to climate threats while reducing the emissions that drive them.”
Concluding his address, Idemyor emphasised the importance of implementation science, arguing that effective solutions already exist but are too often poorly adopted. “We already know what works,” he said. “The real challenge is ensuring these practices are implemented and sustained.”
Although delivered to an American audience, Professor Idemyor stressed that his framework holds particular relevance for Nigeria and West Africa, regions facing intensifying heat, floods and disease risks amid limited adaptive capacity. His appearance at ASHP’s flagship conference marks a notable moment for Nigerian scholarship, highlighting the growing influence of African experts in shaping global health responses to the climate crisis.
