There were mixed reactions in the Board Room of the National Orthopeadic Hospital Igbobi, Lagos (NOHIL) recently, as the Medical Director, Dr Olurotimi Odunubi, briefed journalists on the institution’s journey from way back in December 1945, when it was established as a medical centre, under the British Colonial medical services.

Odunubi who was filled with gratitude to God and all philanthropists who contributed to the immense development of the hospital, however lamented the sharp decrease in subvention from government, which drastically dropped from an average of N7 Million to N2.5 Million.

“This was a major challenge for a government-funded establishment like ours where government pays staff’s salary, gives overhead and has capital vote. With this development, we had to source for internally generated revenue to cope with our monthly cost of running the institution. For instance, we use an average of N4.1million worth of diesel monthly, with other costs inclusive,” he said.

He added that: “Nonetheless, on this occasion of our 70th anniversary, we are not ungrateful to the Federal government, for its unrelenting support to the NOHIL, even in the face of dwindling economy, as we are hopeful of better allocation in the coming years, for the provision of improved, international standard orthopaedic beds and plastic surgical services to the populace”, he stated.

Explaining reasons for the minimal increase in patients’ fees, Odunubi attributed it to the shortfall in subvention to the hospital, saying that the institution was still open to receive all injured patients, with or without payment, adding that their speedy recovery what mattered most to the caregivers, as payment can be made later.

He, however, assured the citizens of better services ahead, stating that the hospital was poised to give excellent services to the public after the platinum anniversary, appreciating all donors to the institution since inception, especially, Sir Mobolaji Bank Anthony, Adebutu Kessington Foundation, Santana Group, among others.

Head of Clinical Services, NOHIL, Dr Mike Ugbeye disclosed the milestones achieved by the institute in the past ten years, including provision of highly specialised care in arthroscopic orthopaedic; recognition as the first orthopaedic hospital in the West African Sub-region; emergence as the first centre to train prosthetics/orthotics manpower at the ND and HND levels in Nigeria; training of 68 per cent of all consultant orthopaedic surgeons in the country, among others.

He also mentioned how the institution had enjoyed partnership with other private organisations, including a foreign firm which sponsored the cost of hip replacement for sickle cell patients in conjunction with Sickle Cell Foundation, at a cost of N1 million per hip replacement for twelve patients.

Ugbeye also called on the government to extend the coverage of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to cover all the services rendered in the hospital, in order to reduce the financial burden on patients, adding that the institute has a record of N25 million to N30 million unrecoverable bills per annum.

Until the governments at all levels, agree with the stipulated 2000 Abuja Declaration, to make the least of their budgetary allocations to health 15 %, there might not be an end in sight, to the recurrent poor health indexes of infant mortality, maternal morbidity, high burden of diseases, inadequate health care services in public and private facilities, et cetera.

This was the unanimous submission of bigwigs in the health care industry, who converged at the FECOT Auditorium of the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi , Lagos, (NOHIL) recently, for the 70^th anniversary public lecture, themed:”Efficient health care delivery in the 21^st century”.

Speaking on the topic: “National health financing and policy”, professor Akin Osibogun, former CMD, LUTH, said one major task before the federal government is the implementation of universal health coverage, by reducing out-of-pocket health services to the barest minimum in the country.

Osibogun, who was ably represented by Dr. Tochi Okwor, condemned the rate of out-of-pocket health services, which was put at 69% as at last year, emphasized that for as long as there are out-of-pocket payments for accessing health care in the country, then there is no equity in health care provision.

The former LUTH CMD, who agonized over the inadequate government provision on health, over the years, noted that government allocation to health is equivalent to 3.2 % of the total allocation for some years, even to the present, and this has brought a lot of inefficiency to the system.

He therefore called for the rectification of these anomalies in the in the sector, adding that harmonization of external aids and partnership for health care financing, could be means of moving the system forward.

Osibogun also identified lack of implementation of the National Health Act as a challenge in the industry, and urged all health practitioners to insist on the application of the Health Act, in their various units, stating that this will go a long way, in ameliorating some of these challenges in the sector.

In his own contribution, Mr Yinka Sanni, CEO, Stanbic IBTC Bank, further commented on the theme of the anniversary lecture, with a focus on private participation in the health sector and funding. He asserted that since the private sector provides 40 % of the health care delivery to the masses, then they should be empowered financially to provide the best services to the people.

Sanni, who was represented by Mrs Olufunke Amobi, highlighted the challenges of the private health sector to include :lack of coordination, inadequate access to finance; regulations and institutions, advocacy; lack of sustainability, and so on.

To overcome these recurrent bottlenecks in the private health sector, he recommended that there should be sustainability of funding, formulating and implementation of apt policies; advancement in public and private partnership and more donations from donor agencies.

The Medical director, Dr. O.O. Odunubi, during his address, expressed his commitment to staff welfare, stating that he has always ensure that things get better for them, because human resources is the most important resources to any organization.

Odunubi, who frown at frequent industrial actions, embarked upon by workers, which had disrupted the institution’s services in time past, said it’s unfortunate that that is the only weapon labour uses, and it disposes patients trust in them.”Industrial action in medical sector does not help our advocacy and services in any way”.

Among other things the institution is working on, he said the provision of an environment for both rich and poor, and the development of a system for preferential billing system, are imperative for them.

The chairman of the occasion, prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi , cautioned the health workers on their incessant complaint about government’s disposition towards them, adding that should put up more positive orientation, by using what they have to acquire what they need.

As the National Action Committee on Lassa fever was installed yesterday, the group has been saddled with the responsibility of providing a blue print for the containment of the Lassa fever, in two weeks time.

Meanwhile, the disease has spread to 64 local governments’ areas in 17 states, with 212 suspected cases, while Edo, Rivers, Taraba, Nasarawa states have emerged hottest zones for the disease.

The minister of health, prof. Isaac Adewole, made this disclosure during the National Council on Health (NCH) meeting with Commissioners for Health from all the states of the federation and other stakeholders in the health sector, yesterday.

Adewole, who described the current outbreak of the virus as a national embarrassment, fuelled by ignorance, urged all health practitioners to be honest in disclosing the present status of the disease in their states, stating that the objective of the meeting was to generate strategies on curbing the spread of the virus.

“There is a high level of denial and a conspiracy of silence in some of our states. I think people take delight in saying we have no case and to me that is not the issue.In fact, if you are able to pick suspicious cases, to me that is the issue because that goes to tell us that the surveillance system is at work.

“We also want to alert all health professionals in the country that they should report any case. I have described the outbreak as a national embarrassment.

“We can manage the embarrassment, but when we allowed another outbreak to occur in August last year, it became a national shame to all of us.

“One of the things we will do to prevent us from dragging this nation into shame is to stamp out Lassa fever,” he said.

It’s now authentic that the Lassa virus has found its way into the centre of excellence, as the first case of the disease was confirmed in the state last Friday.

According to the Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, the patient, a 25 year old male undergraduate of the Ahmadu Bello University, Kaduna, is presently being managed at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and his condition is stable.

In a swift reaction to curb the spread of the disease, the state government has sealed off the facility, the Ahmmadiyyah Hospital in the Ojokoro area of the state, where the patient was attended to, before heading to LUTH.

Speaking in a telephone interview during Sunrise Daily this morning, the minister of Health, Dr. Isaac Adewole urged health practitioners to desist from seeing the outbreak as a failure on their part, adding that such reasoning could prevent them from disclosing cases of the disease in their states.

His words: “I think at professional level, people must just admit that an outbreak should not be considered as a fault in the system but as something to be reported and actively to be presented”.

The Minister said that the Ministry of Health is in touch with all Commissioners of Health in the country, stressing that they would be meeting on Tuesday under the auspices of the National Council on Health.

“We have also dispatched drugs to the state and we are reactivating all our treatment and diagnostic centres in a bid to ensure that we are able to make diagnosis promptly.

“We are also sending teams all over the states to ensure that we uncover cases that hitherto, were not reported.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Government is set to inaugurate National Lassa Fever Action Committee on Tuesday, in order to forestall further spread of the disease.

The Director, Media and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs Boade Akinola, stated this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday.

The statement also quoted prof. Adewole, as indicating that the ministry would convene an Emergency National Council on Health meeting to discuss the on-going Lassa fever outbreak in the country. It is hopeful that this committee will do justice to the outbreak.

Do you want to add years to your life? Or life to your years? Feeling your best boosts your zeal for life!

The American Heart Association recommends at least 150-minutes of moderate activity each week. An easy way to remember this is 30 minutes at least 5 days a week, but three 10-minute periods of activity are as beneficial to your overall fitness as one 30-minute session. This is achievable! Physical activity may also help encourage you to spend some time outdoors.

Here are some reasons why physical activity is proven to improve both mental and physical health.

1. Physical activity boosts mental wellness.

Regular physical activity can relieve tension, anxiety, depression and anger. You may notice a “feel good sensation” immediately following your physical activity, and most people also note an improvement in general well-being over time as physical activity becomes a part of their routine.

2. Physical activity improves physical wellness.

(Reduced Risk Factors)

Too much sitting and other sedentary activities can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. One study showed that adults who watch more than 4 hours of television a day had a 46% increased risk of death from any cause and an 80% increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

Becoming more active can help lower your blood pressure and also boost your levels of good cholesterol.

3. Physical activity prolongs your optimal health.

Without regular physical activity, the body slowly loses its strength, stamina and ability to function well. People who are physically active and at a healthy weight live about 7 years longer than those who are not active and are obese.

4. Improves blood circulation, which reduces the risk of heart disease
5. Keeps weight under control
6. Helps in the battle to quit smoking
7. Improves blood cholesterol levels
8. Prevents and manages high blood pressure
9. Prevents bone loss
10. Boosts energy level
11. Helps manage stress
12. Releases tension
13. Promotes enthusiasm and optimism
14. Counters anxiety and depression
15. Helps you fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly
16. Improves self-image
17. Increases muscle strength, increasing the ability to do other physical activities
18. Provides a way to share an activity with family and friends
19. Reduces risk of developing CHD/CVD by 30-40 percent
20. Reduced risk of stroke by 20 percent in moderately active people and by 27 percent in those who are highly active
21. Establishes good heart-healthy habits in children and counters the conditions (obesity, high blood pressure, poor cholesterol levels, poor lifestyle habits, etc.) that lead to heart attack and stroke later in life
22. Helps delay or prevent chronic illnesses and diseases associated with aging and maintains quality of life and independence longer for seniors

As the deadly disease of  Lassa fever continues to spread from one state to the other in the country, bringing down the souls of victims in their tens, the death toll from the epidemic rose from 40 to 41 yesterday, with increase in  reported cases from 86 to 93.

The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, who confirmed this in Abuja on Tuesday at a joint ministerial news conference on the update of the outbreak of the disease, however assured the citizens of the Federal Government’s efforts in curtailing further spread of the virus.

According to the Minister,  Nigeria has been experiencing Lassa fever outbreak in the past six weeks in Bauchi, Nasarawa, Niger, Taraba, Kano, Rivers, Edo, Plateau, Gombe and Oyo states.

“The first case of the current outbreak was reported from Bauchi in November last year. This was followed by cases reported by Kano State and subsequently the other states mentioned above”.

“Our laboratories have confirmed 22 cases so far, indicative of a new round trip of Lassa fever outbreak.The Nigerian government will continue to enhance its surveillance and social health education, information   and   communication   activities to prevent the disease from spreading further in Nigeria and I wish to call for the support and understanding of Nigerians”, the minister said.

Adewole added that in response to the reported outbreak, the Federal Government had taken some drastic measures to curtail further spread and reduce mortality.

The measures, he said, included immediate release of adequate quantities of ribavirin, the specific antiviral drug for Lassa Fever to all the affected states for prompt and adequate treatment of cases; and deployment of rapid response teams from the Federal Health Ministry to all the affected states to assist in investigating and verifying the cases and tracing of contacts.

He however said that the non-specific nature of symptoms and varied presentations, have made clinical diagnosis difficult and delayed, especially in the early course of the disease outbreak.

In case of any suspected Lassa fever patient around you, you should immediately contact the epidemiologist in the State Ministry of Health or call the Federal Ministry of Health using the following numbers: 08093810105,08163215251, 08031571667 and 08135050005.

As the dread of the Lassa Virus continued to spread in Taraba State, and other parts of the country, the state government has risen to the challenge by deploying health workers across the state to sensitise citizens on symptoms and preventive measures of the Lassa fever.

Assuring citizens of government intervention on Wednesday, as televised on Channels TV News@ Noon, the Taraba State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Innocent Vakkai, said the government has purchased drugs for treatment of patients and protective equipment for medical personnel on.

Dr. Vakkai, who was on a visit to the Federal Medical Centre in Jalingo, Taraba State capital, where he was taken round the wards by the Medical Directors to see the facility on ground and how the hospital is handling the patients, pending the outcome of blood samples taken for clarification, asked members of the public not to panic, as the state government had responded swiftly to tackling the disease with the provision of drugs and equipment for medical personnel.

A Medical Director at the Federal Medical Centre, Wiza Inusa, told reporters that it has not been ascertained if the affected patients are suffering from Lassa fever since blood samples have been taken to a specialist hospital for further confirmation.

The medical personnel however cautioned citizens on the need to step up their hygienic principles as well as keeping food stuffs from rodents, while they await the result of the blood samples taken for verification, at Irrua Specialists’ Hospital in Edo State for further confirmation.

It was earlier reported that one person has died of the fever in the state while two others infected persons have been quarantined

Worried by the spate of drug abuse in the country, the Lagos State PSN chairman, Pharm. Gbenga Olubowale has called on all pharmacists in the state and across the country, to bring their professionalism into the fore, in order to rid the nation of the phenomenon.

The Lagos PSN Chairman, who made the call during the end of the year party of the association, said the abuse of Codeine, Tramadol, and even Postinol, among young stars has a lot of ripple effects.

Details later

…As the institution clocks 70

There was mixed reactions at the Board Room of the National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi, Lagos (NOHIL) on Monday, as the Medical Director, Dr.Olurotimi Odunubi, briefed journalists on the institutions’ journey way back December 1945, when it was established as a medical centre, under the British Colonial medical services.

Odunubi who was filled with gratitude to God and all philanthropists, for their contributions to the immense development of the hospital, however lamented the sharp decrease in subvention from government, which drastically dropped from an average of N7 Million to N2.5 Million.

“This was a major challenge for a government funded establishment like ours where government pays staff’s salary, gives overhead and has capital vote. With this development, we had to source for internally generated revenue to cope with our monthly cost of running the institution. For instance, we use an average of N4.1million worth of diesel monthly, with other costs inclusive.

“Nonetheless, on this occasion of our 70^th anniversary, we are not ungrateful to the Federal government, for its unrelenting support to the NOHIL, even in the face of dwindling economy, as we are hopeful of better allocation in the coming years, for the provision of improved, international standard orthopaedic, burns and plastic surgical services to the populace”, he stated.

Explaining reasons for the minimal increase in patients’ fees, Odunubi attributed it to the shortfall in subvention to the hospital, saying that the institution is still open to receive all injured patients, with or without payment, adding that their speedy recovery is of utmost interest to the caregivers, as payment can be made later.

He however assured the citizens of better services ahead, stating that the hospital is poised to give excellence service to the public after the platinum anniversary, appreciating all donors to the institution since inception, especially, Sir Mobolaji Bank Anthony, Adebutu Kessington Foundation, Santana Group, among others.

As a way of bridging the gap in accessing quality health care in the country, the CEO of Merck Pharmaceutical, Dr Stefan Oschmann has urged all drugs manufacturers to embark on measures that will make medicines available and affordable to the poor man on the street.

Oschamnn who was speaking during the unveiling of their Lagos office, there is the need to reduce the prices of medicines in the country, in order to solve the problem of inaccessible health care in the country.

“We are thinking of cutting down the prices of our medicines in Nigeria. Such things are currently going on in Ghana where we make products available at a much lower price for the public system and charge regular price in the private system for the people who can afford it. So there are plenty of things we want to do in Nigeria. And again, we are very optimistic that we are going to make huge progress in the future”, he said.

He further noted that: “Access to quality medicines is very important. Our industry needs to make sure that we adopt our business model, so that we can make medicines available at prices that the common man on the street can be able to buy it.

“We need to be involved with public-private partnership; we also need to do private partnerships.  We need to join forces with Nigerian players to make medicines more affordable. We need to work on supply chain, security and reliability.

“We need to make sure that medicines are safely distributed to the people that need them and in some areas, such as the neglected tropical diseases, we need to work on our social responsibilities programmes and donate medicines because the very poor cannot afford the very cheap medicines”.

Mainland Maternity Hospital in Lagos places an order for four cartons of Babylee Infant Formula from City Express Stores on 1 June.  The goods are promptly supplied the following day and are paid for by cash upon delivery.

The following week, it is brought to the notice of the Chief Matron of the hospital that the products supplied were affected by a recent government provision.  The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) had withdrawn the licences for the importation and distribution of certain products.  Unknown to both parties (Mainland Maternity Hospital and City Express Stores), the list of affected products was published in the month of May and it contained Babylee Infant Formula, among others.

The Chief Matron immediately contacts City Express Stores and demands that they take back their goods and refund all payments made.  The manager of City Express refuses to comply on the following grounds: 1) The hospital specifically requested for Babylee Infant Formula; 2) Since neither party was aware of the development, the transaction was genuine; 3) The NAFDAC provision is very recent and so it can ber overlooked; and 4) The products supplied are still consumable, as the expiration date is not due for another year.

In view of this, what is the legal position of the parties concerning the mistake made in the transaction?

In law, a mistake has a more limited scope than a mistake in ordinary usage.  What may be regarded as mistake by the layman, will in most cases not be so regarded at law.  If it is established that one or both parties entered into a contract under some misunderstanding or misapprehension, the circumstances will be considered to determine the remedies available.

The legal issues to be discussed are:

1. What constitutes a ‘mistake’ in law?
2. The classification of mistakes.
3. The effect of a mistake in a transaction.

The scope of what constitutes a mistake at law is demonstrated by Lord Atkin in the case of Bell v. Lever Bros. Ltd:

“A buys B’s horse; he thinks the horse is sound and he pays the price of a sound horse; he would certainly not have bought the horse if he had known as a fact that the horse is unsound.  If B has made no representations as to soundness and has not contracted that the horse is sound, A is bound and cannot recover back the price.”

To the layman, this illustration would be regarded as a ‘mistake’ on the part of A; but in law, there is no mistake in such situations.  A has got what he contracted for.  It is not the business of the law to help A to define what qualities he had expected but failed to spell out expressly.  However, if unknown to both parties, the subject matter had already been destroyed at the time the negotiation to purchase was being concluded, it would amount to a mistake at law.  According to Lord Atkins:

“An agreement of A and B to purchase a specific article is void if in fact the article had perished before the date of the sale.  In this case, though the parties in fact were agreed about the subject matter, yet consent to transfer or take delivery of something not in existence is deemed useless: consent is nullified.”

There are various ways of categorising mistakes at law but a clear method of classification would be based on the parties involved in the misapprehension and the subject of error.  Thus, we have: a) common mistake; b) mutual mistake; c) unilateral mistake.

A common mistake is one where both parties concluded the contract under the same misapprehension about the same fact which lies at the basis of the agreement.  A mutual mistake is where two parties are mistaken about each other’s terms in the sense that one party makes to the other an offer which the other party “accepts” in a fundamentally different sense from that intended by the offeror.  A unilateral mistake is one where only one party is mistaken or is presumed to be mistaken.

In this case involving Mainland Maternity Hospital, it is apparent that both parties were unaware of the new provision affecting the importation and distribution of the required product.  It is therefore a classic case of a common mistake.

The manager of City Express Stores has expressed several reasons why the contract is valid, despite the NAFDAC provision.  The argument is that a genuine mistake, such as this, may be overlooked in view of the circumstances.  It is noteworthy that the hospital specifically requested for Babylee Infant Formula and they were given what they ordered.

However, in the case of Knight, Frank and Rutley v. Attorney General of Kano State, the state government engaged the services of a firm without cognisance of the fact that the assignment had been affected by the constitution and the Kano State Local Government Edict.  Consequently, after the firm had initiated the services and had been paid an advance fee, the state government discovered the mistake and repudiated the contract.  According to the court, where the subject matter of a contract has, without the knowledge of either party, ceased to exist before the contract was made, the contract is void on the ground of mistake.

From this analysis, even though there was a contract for sale of specific goods, the fact that the contract was preceded by a government provision, which invalidated the sale of such goods, goes to render the contract void ab initio (from the beginning).  In effect, the hospital is entitled to rescind the contract and claim a full refund of payments made.

Principles and cases are from Sagay: Nigerian Law  of Contract

Hudson Taylor, missionary to China and founder of what is today known as the Overseas Missionary Fellowship, once gave this excellent advice: “Let us give up our work, our plans, ourselves, our lives, our loved ones, our influence, our all, right into God’s hand; and then, when we have given all over to Him, there will be nothing left for us to be troubled about.”

Indeed, life is full of causes for worry and anxiety. Nobody can pretend that he or she does not experience them at one time or the other. We only need to handle them with wisdom because they can cause physical, emotional and psychological damage.

In Luke 12:22, Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will put on”.

Even the disciples who were close to Jesus had a lot to worry about. They had given up their livelihood and belongings in order to follow Jesus.  They had sacrificed their security and comforts of home and family for an unknown future and unending travels. Jesus knew their worries and did not brush them aside because they were real. Instead, He assured them of God’s provision of their needs.

One of the ways to reduce anxiety is to identify those things which we have no power to control or change. An English idiom talks of crying over spilt milk.   There is no need to keep complaining over a loss. Nor should we dwell on past misfortunes. It is mere waste of energy and time worrying over these things. You have to know what you can change and what you cannot change. Don’t worry about what you cannot change or what has already happened.

In 2004, I had an interesting encounter, which God allowed, despite my fervent prayers.  From 2002, I started gathering materials and contacting co-authors to write my first book titled “Fake Drugs in Nigeria”. I invested a lot of my time and money on this project. The then Director-General of NAFDAC was pleased with the idea and encouraged me. On completion of the book with 11 co-authors in 2004, I mailed the soft copy to the DG with a request to write a commentary. This step became the turning point on the book project.

Out of covetousness and envy, the authorities decided to frustrate the project. I had already fixed the official launching for 4 August 2004 at the Lagos Airport Hotel Ikeja and several people had been informed and invited. With the threat of cancelling the launching, I worried about my investments and reputation, as well as the disappointment of my co-authors, patrons and supporters. I called for prayers in my church and at Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International for God to intervene and prevent cancellation of the book launch by the DG. However, God did not grant our prayers.

Consequently,   in June 2004, I was ordered not to proceed with the planned book launch. From that day, I stopped worrying and asking God to do for me what was not according to His will. Instead, I started thanking God for His own better plans for my life and business. Then He gave me the idea of writing another book. I mobilised all the resources available and in the next six weeks I was able to produce a 30-chapter book titled, “Your Best Pathway for Life” and launched it at the Muson Centre Onikan on 24 August 2004.

Whenever I cast my mind back to the events of 2014, I give glory to God. From that year, I started writing other inspirational books.

We worry needlessly a lot of the time. According to Don Joseph Goewey, author of The End of Stress, Four Steps to Rewire Your Brain, 85% of what we worry about never happens.  A popular song says, “What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

Pharm (Sir) Ike Onyechi is the national president of Christian Pharmacists Fellowship of Nigeria (CPFN). In this exclusive chat with Pharmanews, Pharm. Onyechi, who is also CEO of Alpha Pharmacy and Stores, outlines the expectations of CPFN from the incoming PSN president. He equally decries the activities of pseudo-Christian pharmacists, denouncing their membership of the CPFN, while urging all pharmacists to be the best in their capacities. Excerpts:

As president of the Christian arm of the PSN, how would you assess the activities of the CPFN in the last three years?

The Christian Pharmacist Fellowship of Nigeria (CPFN) is geared towards watching and moulding the spiritual lives of Christian pharmacists. Actually there are some improvements on the part of the CPFN as we have improved activities from Ilorin to Akwa Ibom, Ibadan and Abuja. The last conference was more momentous than others; people turned out en masse and we shared the word of God with them. This is more of what we can do, as well as pray that God will touch the people, after giving them the word.

The overall PSN leadership has shown some improvements. Olumide Akintayo, the outgoing PSN president, has become a very outstanding personality in JOHESU by engaging other groups in negotiating with the government. On our own part as CPFN, we ensure we are getting better.

There has been so much rancour among health care practitioners in recent times. In what ways has the CPFN intervened?

The CPFN can only pray, while doing some advocacy in talking to people at the forefront of the controversies. But I’m not stopping at physical controversies, because there are deep controversies in the spiritual realm, typical to end time predictions. Is it only in the PSN? Is it only in the health sector? Where do you have peace? Christians should sit up and call to mind what the Scripture has said in Matthew 24, and in the book of Daniel, too.

Look at Boko Haram in Nigeria, Al-Qaida in Pakistan and other Asian countries. I mean, there is turmoil all over the world. Incredible things are happening all around. Look at Russia bombing Syria like no man’s business; Israel and Palestine in recent times – the violence has escalated over there again; Libya is not excluded from the outrage.

The health sector issues are mainly between doctors and other health workers; the doctors feel more prominent than others. The government is also to blame in the issue, because they make empty promises without fulfilling them. And doctors who shut down hospitals in a bid to protest, and allow patients to die, after they have taken oaths to preserve lives, will definitely be answerable to God. Ours, at CPFN, is to urge people to continue to pray for peace.

What is the theme of CPFN for the 88th year of PSN?

The theme of CPFN’s last convention in Abuja, in August, was, “Rekindle the fire: Expanding our coast”. We are hoping to get into more spirituality, living more in righteousness, which will exalt a nation, and which will bring us in favour with God. That even when there are afflictions, the Scripture says “many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord will deliver him from them all”.

In this turbulent times, we are praying for pharmacists to find a space for Christ in their practices, lives and families. The theme, “Rekindle the fire; Expanding our coast” was taken from Apostle Paul’s admonition to Timothy to fanup the gifts that were in him, that were getting dim. In the same vein, we are saying to pharmacists, “Stand up, you are a scientist; stand up, you have been endowed to improve the health care system and wealth of this nation”. This encouragement is imperative now because of the dampening environment and the dampened morale of people. We are saying, get up and go; you are trained to add quality to people’s lives.

How practical would it be for pharmacists to expand their coast with the harsh economic situation in the country?

“Expanding your coast” is a spiritual term, not necessarily what they need billions to acquire. It is something they already have; that they should wake up to make the best use of it.

Even the money they already have can be put into better use, and when you are working in righteousness, and in the fear of God, you are sure that God is backing up what you are doing. The economic condition does not affect God’s children adversely, as you are connected to the economy of heaven – if only you can retrace your steps back to your root, that is, Christ. God knows His people, and He does not leave them in the wilderness.

So many professing Christian pharmacists have not been living up to expectations at work places, as there are several allegations of fraudulent dealings in the industry. What is your take on this?

This is not the case of Christians or so-called Christians. The nominality level in Christianity is as high as 75 per cent, because 75 per cent of those who say they are Christians are not Christians. But those who are genuinely born again are not involved in all of these. But if at all they are involved, it could be as a result of temptation they were not aware of earlier. When one is tempted, God gives ability to overcome the temptation, but if you are walking on your own, then you can fall into all these plunders.

We just had  similar experiences  here in my company – one in Kaduna, another one in Jos – where a  medical rep took  goods in the name of a customer, but diverted  it elsewhere, and  started paying the money in bits; but the customer he used his account got to know later on. Such a rep cannot be regarded as a Christian. Many people who go to church don’t even attend our fellowships, because they know that CPFN talks about deeper Christian ethics. We don’t have even 30 per cent participation, which is sad. We can only boast of 20 per cent participation. That is why this is still happening. When people come to God, God helps them, thus you need not steal to eat.

What are your expectations from the new PSN president?

We wish the new PSN president success. We advise that he should have more interactions with the CPFN, because it would afford him opportunity to be closer to God, and if God is backing you up, whatever you do will last. No matter the physical experience he has got, he must stay close to God. The level of the fear of God in PSN leadership can be better than what it is now. This is our biggest expectation.

How would you advise all pharmacists in the wake of the change administration of president Buhari?

All pharmacists are urged to work with the fear of God; because that is the only guarantee you need to have a good work. Whether you are a Christian or non-Christian, be more devoted to your work. Work diligently. Be focused. Choose the area of pharmacy that you are best at and work hard at it; then God will lift you up. Even the president will be happy with you because, certainly, there will be more sanctions now for unprofessionalism in the profession.

In Nigerian pharmacy circle, Pharm. Lekan Asuni needs no introduction. A colossus of sort, the pharmacist is the current president, Representatives of Overseas Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (NIROPHARM). In this interview with Adebayo Folorunsho-Francis, Asuni, who was appointed managing director of GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (Anglophone West Africa) at a relatively young age of 40, bares his mind on how NIROPHARM’s cordial relationship with all regulatory agencies is aiding its progress; why people wrongly believe the body has a rift with PMG-MAN, as well as his choice of new PSN leadership. Excerpts:

As president of NIROPHARM, how would you describe the last three years in office?

Well, the journey has been good so far. Good but laced with challenges, if I can put it that way. When we came on board, the dynamics of the operating environment had quite changed. There were newer challenges – challenges with quality of representatives who work in the industry, as well as professionalism and capacity building for people who work in the factory. We also had issues relating largely to effects of government policies on the industry; policies in terms of tariffs, drug distribution system and others. Besides that, the operating environment was becoming more and more competitive. There was need for a level playing field for everybody so that companies could conduct themselves in an ethical manner. These were some of the challenges we met on ground and we began to look into how to address them.

How did you address them?

On capacity building, we ensured that capacity building programmes were conducted for our people who work in various factories in the industry, through our sister companies abroad or through some locally organised programmes. We did this so that majority of people who work with our member companies are able to operate at the same standard. We equally extended this capacity building to the regulatory agencies because we realised that they needed support in some areas of competence and capacity. We are in a position to leverage our local range to make those things available to them. For instance, we have done a lot of capacity building with NAFDAC.

What about the challenge with quality of representatives?

Yes, On the quality of representatives’ issue, this is an area we have done some work and we’ll continue to do more. Our member companies are now engaging with Pharmacy schools to dialogue about how training of pharmacists can be such that when they graduate, they can fit into the industry and all that.

On the professional conduct, this is one nut we have not been able to crack. We are still looking at a lot of things. For instance, we are looking at how we could have a database of all staff, especially medical reps in the industry and to ensure that we do share intelligence about these staff especially when they move from one company to another. We have found out situations where they actually work for more than one company. In some cases, some have unresolved issues at Company A and jumped to Company B. But, corporately, we are looking at a sustainable framework to make this confidential information available within the group. It will serve as deterrent to those moving from one company to the other without clearing up issues from where they are coming from.

Again, for our association, membership strength has grown from what it should used to be. We have an estimated 65 corporate members from barely 30 that we had before I took over. Now, with NAFDAC, if you have to renew your product licence or do any importation, we have an agreement with NAFDAC to demand for a membership certification from us. We want to be sure that they are dealing with the right people. It has been good progress so far when you look at where we were then and where we are now. Our aspiration for the future is to be the agent of change in the industry so that we can fully realise the potential.

Have you been able to meet the objectives you set out to achieve?

One of the set objectives was to follow through on the transformation of the industry which pillars we are working on. Part of it is to be a key stakeholder, being consulted and will being visible. When it comes to the industry, we have people who are highly intellectual there. We have been able to make our contributions to all the important discussions.

Another objective we set out to achieve was collaboration with different stakeholders. We have done it with regulatory agencies and even with organisations that share certain principles and objectives with us like the anti-counterfeit coalition. We do this across and have been very collaborative.

Another objective is to ensure that when we have issues in the health sector that are of high priority, we contribute our quota and expertise. Largely we have been delivering on the objectives we set for ourselves and we will continue to build on those successes.

How has NIROPHARM been coping with the issue of funding so far?

As you know, without funding, we cannot do all the activities I enumerated. But then we must appreciate all the corporate members. They have been very committed. Majority paid their annual subscription which has been the main source of revenue for us and they equally support us through other activities like meetings and workshops, in addition to the subscription. They still go the extra mile to ensure that we don’t deplete whatever we get for subscription.

They also do “part-sponsorship” of our various activities. We cannot claim that we have that revenue base, compared to some other associations because we deal with corporate membership not individuals. I think I should use this medium to thank NAFDAC for accepting that all companies that want to register products must present NIROPHARM membership certificate. Enforcement of this will go a long way to ensure that people come to NIROPHARM to register for their membership card and present to NAFDAC whenever they want to renew their licences or register new products.

In terms of attendance, how active are your members?

They are very active. I think we have three big events that bring us together. One of them is the CEOs Forum which is a gathering for chief executives to discuss strategic issues pertaining to the industry. We extend invitations to key stakeholders that we want to have dialogue with such, as regulatory agencies, customs or federal ministry of health. They do attend because they know that it is important to reach an agreement on some strategic decisions.

Secondly, we do have bi-monthly meetings where the CEOs too could attend. But it is more directed to the level below the CEOs. What we discuss there is a lot of operational issues and that excites members because all regulatory and operation details are deliberated. People do show up at those meetings because it is something that cuts across everybody. Sometimes we bring resource people to shed more lights on some contentious issues in the industry.

The last one is our signature meeting. We call it Networking Evening because we discuss contemporary issued. We even bring people from outside the industry and have serious panel discussions. So far, I can say attendance is fairly okay.

Many pharma observers have alleged that NIROPHARM has a frosty relationship with PMG-MAN. What is your reaction?

When you talk about PMG-MAN, I don’t think we have a frosty relationship. Maybe it is just people’s perception. Even when you have children from the same father, they sometimes have different views about certain issues. What may interest you is that PMG-MAN and NIROPHARM have what you can call a symbiotic relationship. There is nobody who is into 100 per cent importation or 100 per cent local manufacture. It is to what degree you have your portfolio.

When you look at members in NIROPHARM, some are doing either contract manufacturing or they are setting up factories or even owning those factories. Maybe the importation aspect of their business is little compared to the local manufacture. They will then say “Okay, I am in PMG-MAN but I am still a member of NIROPHARM, which means they could participate in the latter. Same thing also goes for NIROPHARM. But sometimes we do have difference in opinion on some issues. That is why some people feel there is a frosty relationship. No, there is nothing like that. We work fully together and are committed to same objective.

Although there could be occasional difference in opinion, I will say that I enjoy cordial relationship with PMGMAN executives. To be clear, I am also a member of PMG-MAN. Some PMG-MAN members also belong to NIROPHARM (laughs). I don’t want to start mentioning names here. But when you go to the names on the list, you will see GSK boldly written there. On NIROPHARM, you will see their name there (laughs again).

What about NIROPHARM’s position on West African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (WAPMA)?

Well, let me say WAPMA is just evolving and we are happy to be part it. But when it started off, the window of participation by NIROPHARM was not very clear. It was looking more like it was only meant for manufacturers within the sub-region. But I think it should be all encompassing for both manufacturers and those who import because they are a West African pharmaceutical body. Once this grey area is clear, which I believe is in progress, we will all work together in the sub-region as one. And I think that is the way it should be. If we all work together to develop the industry, instead of trying to fragment everything, everybody will benefit.

How prepared is NIROPHARM for the 2015 PSN Conference?

NIROPHARM is well prepared. We are going to be there to showcase what we stand for and make people understand what values we contribute. We do so many things that sometimes go unnoticed. Member companies are busy one way or the other doing capacity building, transferring technology and doing so many great things with federal or state government as well as corporate organisations. We need to be able to showcase all these to the larger pharmacy community. We are looking forward to it and quite excited about it.

It is another election year. What are those qualities you hope to see in the new PSN president?

I think Olumide Akintayo has tried his best. He took over from Pharm. Azubike, who equally tried his best. Whoever is coming needs to build on the momentum on which we are now. We need dynamic and pragmatic leadership. We need leadership that will be able to drive a full grounding of the profession, such that Pharmacy can now be seen and perceived as a distinct profession; a profession that is well respected within the health sector. We need a brand identity and I think whoever is coming in should be able to drive that.

Thirdly, we need a leadership that would devise strategy to be more collaborative. We need ingenious ways to manage different stakeholders within the health sector, whether they are doctors, nurses, pathologists or other members. We really need an ingenious way to collaborate and been seen as collaborative.

Fourthly, there are quite a number of policy issues about some reforms that are being initiated. I am expecting that whoever is coming in must consider the fact that people have a vision about what Pharmacy is and how it should be practised. We need a committed person that would be able to push through some of these reforms; reforms in the education curriculum; reforms in pharmacy practice, reforms in distribution system of drugs and so many others on the way. He must have the ability to focus and be able to push and drive through these whole reforms so that we are not left behind some other climes.

Health researchers across the country have unanimously submitted that except Nigerians desist from unhealthy habits and imbibe good hygiene practices, the country’s disease burden will continue to rise, rather than decline.

They also underscored the efficacy of traditional medicines, arguing that a lot of medicines developed from local medicinal plants had proved to be more efficacious in the treatment of malaria than synthetic ones.

The scholars made their submissions at the recent 6th Annual Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), with the theme: “Ending the communicable and non-communicable diseases divide in Nigeria”.

They noted during the conference, which was declared opened by the Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, who was ably represented by the Delta State Commissioner for Health, Dr Nicholas Azinge, that rural-dwellers’ diseases are now commonly seen in the cities, due to negligence and ignorance on the part of the citizens.

Addressing the audience, chairman of the conference, Professor Maurice Iwu, said the unique feature of non-communicable diseases is that they mainly have to do with lifestyle management, listing conditions like cancer, diabetes, hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases as health challenges brought about by people’s ways of lives. He said, “If you do not eat well and exercise regularly, you can’t be totally free from at least one of these diseases”.

In tackling the malaria burden in the country, which is one of the major diseases confronting Nigeria, the renowned scientist maintained that it is ignorance that makes most Nigeria medical doctors to   belittle locally-produced traditional medicines in the treatment of malaria.

His words: “It is lack of confidence and ignorance that make practitioners underplay the efficacy of our traditional medicine, which are unlike the orthodox medicines which you take today and tomorrow you are alright, but next tomorrow you are down again. When you are confident about what you have, you will be proud to showcase it anywhere in the world. Normally, when you are under-developed like we are, you have setbacks, and that is what we are experiencing now”.

Stressing the need for all to cultivate hygiene habits and reside in clean environments, Iwu asserted that all normal human beings have lots of parasites living in them.

“We are actually a collection of bacteria”, he said, buttressing the need to ensure cleanliness at all times.

Prof. Iwu, who is also president of the Bio-resources Group, charged the new administration of President Buhari to reposition NIMR as the national coordinating research institute, noting that volumes of researches conducted will amount to nothing in the nation without a coordinating institute to channel the studies through the right processes for impact.

Prof. (Mrs) Olaoluwa Akinwale, director of research (Neglected Tropical Diseases) and head, Molecular Parasitology Research Laboratory, Public Health Division, while delivering her lecture series titled: “From parasites to parasites: A parasitologist’s expedition”, explained that humans are hosts to nearly 300 species of parasitic worms and over 70 species of protozoa, some derived from primates and some acquired from domestic animals.

The industrious investigator, who had travelled far and wide to gain knowledge, stated that 30 per cent of the world’s population is infected with nematode Ascaris lumbriciodes, lamenting the unusual surge in the cases of parasitic diseases such as schistosomiasis and malaria.

Describing the effects of parasitic infections on human body, she said schistosomiasis makes children urinate blood, while causing bladder cancer in adults, making it a double-edged disease.

She added that the disease is most common in water-logged and riverine areas, where people lack social amenities and highly endemic communities.

On the way forward, she said that since adequate health is a legitimate right of every Nigerian, the government must endeavour to break the social-economic inequality among the populace, a situation in which the rich are getting richer, and the poor getting poorer.

Prof. Akinwale further recommended the formulation of health policies which will address the burden of these diseases, in order to forestall further degeneration in the nation’s health care system.

She also reiterated the need for a paradigm shift in behaviour and orientation, saying Nigerians should jettison the idea that “disease cannot kill a black man”. She equally stressed the need to desist from eating unwashed foods, as well as indiscriminate urinating and defecating.

In his message to the audience, Director General of NIMR, Prof. Innocent Ujah, explained the theme of the conference, saying it was chosen to stimulate discussions and generate ideas on the communicable and non-communicable diseases burdens confronting the nation.

“This conference is intended to bring policy makers, academia, researchers and clinical experts together to deliberate, share experiences and network on how best to end the dichotomy in policy planning and implementation with regard to communicable and non-communicable diseases in the face of dwindling funding for health care and limited qualified human resource”, he said.

The DG who expressed optimism that all the objectives of the conference would be achieved, mentioned that a total of 57 abstracts were submitted; while 22 were accepted for oral presentation, 24 were accepted for poster presentation and nine were rejected

The task of revamping pharmacy education in Nigeria to make it more functional to address the societal needs and contemporary global best practices is enormous and pharmacists who are desirous of advancing their practice and improve the image of the profession must embrace the philosophy of lifelong self-directed learning, eminent pharmacist, Professor Azuka C. Oparah has said.

Prof. Oparah said this while delivering a keynote address on the topic, ‘Advancing Pharmacy Through Strategic Workforce Development in Practice Settings’, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, during the 88th Annual National Conference of the PSN held in November.

The Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) urged Nigerian pharmacists to think globally and act locally, adding that the mindset that created a problem cannot be used to solve it.

He further stated that revamping pharmacy education in Nigeria requires a disruptive innovative approach and strong collaboration among the regulators to connect all the levels of the pharmacist’s training, from basic to a specialist practitioner.

This, he said, would only be possible with visionary and committed leadership occurring simultaneously along the strata.

“To bring about change within a diverse profession such as pharmacy, one needs a critical mass pull in the same direction; one needs general agreement about the best direction in which to move and defining and agreeing on this direction has been the greatest challenge,” he said.

Below is the full text of Prof. Oparah’s keynote address:

Introduction

I am grateful to the President and Members of the 88th National Conference Planning Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria for the honour to be keynote speaker today. The objective of this discourse is to explore how to elevate pharmacy practice in diverse settings using the tool of strategic workforce development.

Access to quality medicines and competent, capable health care professionals are fundamental aspects of any health care system. Pharmaceutical human resources should ensure the uninterrupted supply of quality medicines to the population, their management, and responsible use, as vital components in improving the health of nations (FIP Workforce Report, 2012).

Pharmacy workforce comprises pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, counter assistants, and pharmaceutical scientists. Pharmacists practice their profession in diverse settings which we have often identified the major ones as academia/research institutions, hospital, community, industry, and regulatory agencies.

Introspection into pharmacy practice in Nigeria reveals promises that have yet to be delivered. Academic pharmacists, who are producers of pharmacists seem isolated from the real world and have been described as Pharisees because they do not have opportunities to practice what they teach. Hospital pharmacy is largely focused on supply of medications with minimal patient counselling during dispensing and fragments of pharmaceutical care. Community pharmacists supply medications, with great opportunities for helping community dwellers use medications responsibly, as well as expand their frontiers to health promotion and disease-prevention, especially with an aging population.

Industrial pharmacists are experts in pharmaceutical marketing and dosage formulation. Manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients and developing new remedies for emerging diseases represent huge opportunities for research and development. The regulation of pharmacy education, pharmacy practice, and pharmaceutical products makes pharmacy a profession that promises no harm to the public; when the public does not have access to safe medicines, there is a breach of trust. Pharmacists should fight circulation of fake/substandard drugs, drug faking is corruption; fake people cannot fight fake drugs.

Pharmacist workforce density

Pharmacists represent the third largest health care professional group in the world. The pharmacists-to-population ratios vary widely from less than five pharmacists per 100,000 population to as high as over 200 pharmacists per 100,000 population in some countries. The average ratio in the Western Pacific countries is about 25 times more than that of the countries in the African region and has the highest ratios compared to other regions.

The ratio is also related to the economic status of the country, with the low income countries having the lowest ratio and high income countries having the highest ratio (FIP Global Pharmacy & Migration Report, 2006). As at September 2015, 20,000 pharmacists were registered with the PCN and about 580 pharmacists have died in the past five years (PCN, 2015).

Given that some pharmacists engage in non-pharmaceutical jobs and some have migrated, Nigeria has a density of about 125 pharmacists per 100,000 population. There is inequitable distribution between urban and rural areas and even among the cities. Roughly 1,600 young pharmacists from Nigerian and overseas schools will be released yearly into the labour market as from 2015. We are heading towards a glut and fall in market price; time has come to place the cap.

Pharmacist workforce development

Pharmacist workforce development is undertaken in the following layers:

* Undergraduate training

* Internship training

* Postgraduate training (academic and professional)

* Continuing professional development

* Lifelong self-directed learning

* Mentoring

• Undergraduate training – Pharmacy education affects pharmacy practice; both the education and practice are regulated by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) in pursuance of the enabling act. The standards of pharmacy education are also set by the National Universities Commission (NUC). The International Federation of Pharmacists (FIP) recommends global standards for local adaptation. Pharmacy   is an international profession and training practitioners using a global template enables global workforce mobility.

Some issues regarding undergraduate training that need strategic attention are:

1. Curriculum accreditation – Both NUC and PCN undertake programme accreditation. Pharmacy faculties are required to satisfy both bodies. This process results in duplication and wasting of scarce resources. Joint accreditation between PCN and NUC is recommended for Schools of Pharmacy in Nigeria. Furthermore, so far, accreditation criteria have focused on the relevant structures, but there is now need to focus on the processes and learning outcomes as ICT makes it possible to produce good students using compact but complex structural and process models.

2. 2. Training curriculum – Over the years, we have grappled with an overloaded pharmacy curriculum that renders our students more confused than they were before they entered pharmacy schools. The curriculum also leaves our students with low self-esteem, as even the best graduating students in Pharmacy will tell you that they struggled to p

Each time we talk about curriculum review, some faculty members will vehemently defend their territories and may allow you to add a few new courses. Because we add without dropping, we end up overloading the curriculum to the extent that some undergraduate and postgraduate syllabuses are the same. We urgently need to revamp the training curriculum. In fact, I suggest a 30 per cent reduction, so as to allow the students some time to reflect and apply themselves.

The mindset we used to create problems cannot be used to solve them. Reviewing and updating pharmacy training curriculum requires courage and foresight on the part of the regulators. To this end, I wish to observe that the proposed BMAS for PharmD has confused the past with the future and needs to be revamped, so that the second error will not be greater than the first.

2. Structure of pharmacy faculties – The traditional 5- or 6- department structure is overdue for expansion to promote professional growth and development. I recall that the 2012 PSN Pharmacy Education Summit adopted three new departments: Public Health Pharmacy, Social & Administrative Pharmacy, and Agricultural & Veterinary Pharmacy.

     Furthermore, we need to pursue the creation of more directorates at practice level and rotate the headship of pharmacy departments among chief pharmacists and above, as we have in the universities, if we are to embrace innovative practice. Ironically, Pharmacy is a faculty in school but shrunk to one department in practice; that creates structural interactive dissonance.

4. 4. Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree programme – The nomenclature of entry to practics degree in pharmacy has seen an evolutionary trend from Diploma to BSc, to BPharm, to PharmD or MPh This change is accompanied with upwards review of curriculum and duration of training. Only the University of Benin was courageous to start the programme in 2000 and after 15 years, no other school has. Despite the reasons offered, these other schools need help.

The University of Benin model has local adaption of retaining the basic pharmaceutical sciences and terminal clinical focus. The American Educational Credential Evaluators Evaluation Report in 2009 indicated that the University of Benin (Uniben) PharmD degree is equivalent to the US PharmD degree. Therefore, holders of Uniben PharmD are currently recognised in the US and other countries. But they are begging for recognition in Nigeria because we did not speak with one voice when we should have done so, and in line with scriptural quotes, a man’s greatest enemies are members of his own household. In Luke 4:24 and Mark 6:4: Jesus said to them, “Prophets are respected everywhere except in their own home town and by their relatives and their family.”

Ghana joined the world league in 2012 when Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology transited from BPharm to PharmD degree. In transiting from BPharm to PharmD, we have to accept to change the way we think and the way we act regarding pharmacy education and practice. This change entails new attitudes, new mindsets, acquisition of new knowledge and skills and most importantly, willingness to give up some of our so called traditional or conventional ways of doing things.

We must respond to change and the only way to become relevant with time is to embrace new ideas rather than sticking to our traditional comfort zones. Pharmacy is a global profession and there are changes that have occurred worldwide in response to changes in healthcare delivery systems, technology and consumer behaviour. Such changes include transition from BPharm to PharmD and moving from product-oriented practice to pharmaceutical care practice.

Nigerian Pharmacy Schools should stop offering BPharm degree that has been phased out by those who introduced pharmacy education to us. It is like sticking to your old black and white television when the colour television has become ultra-thin. I therefore call on the National Universities Commission and the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria to formally recognise the establishment of the Doctor of Pharmacy degree programme in Nigerian Pharmacy Schools, so that the training of Nigerian pharmacists will be at par with what obtains in the contemporary world.

5. 5. Pharmaceutical care education – Pharmaceutical care is the current philosophy of pharmacy practice worldwid It affects the way pharmacists think and the way they practise, irrespective of the practice-setting. Pharmaceutical care represents both a paradigm shift and disruptive innovation in health care. The pharmacist becomes a problem solver rather than a mere dispenser of medications. The overall gains include assurance of the quality of the prescribing of physicians, improving quality of life of the sick within realistic costs and maintaining the quality of life of the healthy population.

The world-wide acceptance of pharmaceutical care as the mission of the pharmacy profession is shaping pharmaceutical education and practice. As a result, pharmaceutical care was adopted as the focus of good pharmacy education (FIP 1998). Our study indicates that Nigerian pharmacists have positive attitudes towards pharmaceutical care and favour a combination of pharmaceutical care and traditional pharmacy practice; with a gradual introduction of pharmaceutical care in different practice settings (Oparah, et al., 2005)

Pharmaceutical care education in Nigeria should start with training the trainers, developing practice sites and should be student-cantered and outcome-oriented. Approaches to improve pharmaceutical care education include early introduction of pharmaceutical care in the pharmacy curriculum, use of actual patients to teach in the classroom, exposing students to shadow experience at practice sites, and use of virtual patients, especially where access to real patients is a barrier (Oparah, 2010).

Internship training

A mandatory requirement for registration of fresh pharmacists is that they undergo a period of 12-months supervised training in an approved site or split sites. For this training to be outcome-oriented, the required competences should be clearly spelt out to guide both the trainees and their preceptors.

With 17 accredited pharmacy schools and five awaiting accreditation, there is a growing number of prospective internees: 1008 (2012), 1197 (2013), and 1505 (2014) plus pharmacists trained overseas: 80 (2012), 73 (2013), 104 (2014), and 123 (2015). However, there are 208 accredited internship sites as at this review period (PCN 2015).

The implication is that most fresh pharmacy graduates will stay at home for 1-2 years before they can secure a place for internship. Nobody should expect these young professionals suffering early professional frustration to love their profession. Before we preach to them to think of what they should do for their profession, their profession should first think of what to do for them. Therefore, the PCN and PSN should actively search out and accredit more internship centres and also assist interns with placement in available centres.

Pre-registration examination

Pre-registration examination is an international practice. In Nigeria, it is necessary to guarantee the quality of entrants to pharmacy profession for the common good of the society. With the advent of several public and private schools of pharmacy, there is a wide variation in the quality of students on admission and the quality of graduates; pre-registration examination will become the final clearance house for all. Therefore, the PCN should clearly define the syllabus and guidelines for the pre-registration examination ahead of its commencement. Introduction of pre-registration examination was adopted in PCN’s Pharmacy Education Conference in 2001 and PSN’s Summit in 2012. Let us not become active members of “NATO – No Action, Talk Only” according to Prof. Fola Tayo.

Postgraduate training

Most pharmacists call themselves experts on drugs. Please note that a first degree can hardly produce an expert. Pharmacists should therefore seek further education after the pharmacy degree. The global trend in health care is for professionals to specialise; the future offers little hope for generalists.

While the schools of pharmacy can produce higher academic degrees, they are not suitable for professional degrees. This is where regional and national colleges such as the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists will come in to produce Fellows, who can, on appointment, function as specialists and consultants in practice settings.

Pharmacists can train and specialise as Antibiotic Pharmacists, Oncology Pharmacists, Cardiovascular & Renal Pharmacists, Nutrition Support Pharmacists, Psychiatric Pharmacists and Diabetes Educators etc. The future of hospital pharmacy practice lies in creating several areas of specialisation rather than employing everyone as just pharmacist, where there will be no distinction in the job description of different cadres of pharmacists.

Furthermore, qualifying bodies such as the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists only certify their Fellows. It is the duty of the professional regulator to issue licence to practice. Therefore, the PCN should develop a credentialing system for specialised pharmacists and not give everyone the same annual licence to practice as a pharmaceutical chemist.

Continuing professional development

The FIP Statement on Good Pharmacy Education Practice states that Continuing Professional Development must be a lifelong commitment for every practicing pharmacist. The concept of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) can be defined as “the responsibility of individual pharmacists for systematic maintenance, development and broadening of knowledge, skills and attitudes, to ensure continuing competence as a professional, throughout their careers” (FIP,

2000).

Continuing Professional Development is not more than participation in Continuing Education (CE) which, on its own, does not necessarily lead to positive changes in professional practice nor does it necessarily improve healthcare outcomes. CE is, however, an important part of a structured CPD programme, personalised for each pharmacist. CPD is a continuous cycle of reflection on learning needs, planning, action and evaluation. Based on identified national needs, the individual pharmacist should to learn how to draw up SMART plans (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed) for a personalised programme of CPD.

The Continuing Professional Development Process involves 5- step cyclical process of Self- Appraisal, Personal Plan, Action (Implementation), Documentation, and Evaluation. From the foregoing, it means that what we are currently doing is not CPD but it is mandatory to the extent of regulatory requirement for registration.

Lifelong self-directed Learning

In the real sense, learning whether structured or not occurs throughout lifetime and we literally die the day we stop to learn. Professionals should not only learn to maintain competence to practice but also to fit into societal expectations. In addition to professional literatures, we should read newspapers and magazines, books on leadership, entrepreneurship & resource management; politics and economics. We should listen to network news and watch football matches and also watch home videos to know the trends in our society.

Mentoring

Mentoring is a one–to-one relationship of professional development, usually between someone seeking professional progression and a more experienced practitioner. This could include someone seeking to develop a new expertise and a practitioner already active in that area (Goundrey-Smith 2011). Mentoring helps to develop confidence and skills of both the mentor and the mentee. Pharmacy profession in Nigeria will benefit from a structured mentoring scheme and I challenge the leadership of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria to undertake this project.

Conclusion

The task of revamping pharmacy education in Nigeria to make it more functional to address the societal needs and contemporary global best practice is enormous. This requires a disruptive innovative approach and strong collaboration among the regulator, PCN, Faculties of Pharmacy, and the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists to connect all the levels of pharmacists’ training, from basic to a specialist practitioner. This will only be possible with visionary and committed leadership occurring simultaneously along the strata.

To bring about change within a diverse profession such as pharmacy, one needs a critical mass of people pulling in the same direction. Before one can get such a critical mass pulling in the same direction, one needs general agreement about the best direction in which to move and defining and agreeing on this direction has been our greatest challenge.

The mission of the profession of pharmacy is to improve public health through ensuring safe, effective, and appropriate use of medications. Contemporary pharmacy practice reflects an evolving paradigm from one in which the pharmacist primarily supervises medication distribution and counsels patients, to a more expanded and team-based clinical role providing patient-centered medication therapy management, health improvement, and disease prevention services (Webb 1995). Pharmacists should learn to make effective use pharmacy technicians to free time for their involvement in expanding roles in health care delivery.

Education stimulates change in practice. There is a shift in the pharmacy practice philosophy and education which we must embrace: from drug product to drug therapy, from pharmacy to bedside, from dispenser to caregiver, from solo to team, from knowledge to information, from as ordered to as best prescribed, and from drug distribution to pharmaceutical care; where pharmacists promote access to safe medications and their responsible use.

To become responsive, pharmacy education needs to change in three fundamental domains: the teachers should change, the curriculum should change, and mode of delivery and evaluation should change. Teachers need training and re-orientation to reflect on the purpose of pharmacy education which is to produce competent practitioners and not to give abstract knowledge. Revamping the training template entails a competency-based learning rather than compartmentalisation into pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, pharmacognosy and clinical pharmacy. In my mind these departments should be structures with an integrated function; this integration further extends to biomedical & medical departments.

Based on the global competences for pharmacists, the competence pyramid (Miller 1990) of knowing it, knowing how to do it, showing how to do it, and doing it will expect the pharmacist to acquire competences in pharmaceutical care, public health, management, and production/quality assurance of medicines. The new approach to student-centered teaching indicates active learning, problem solving, communication skills and teamwork; evaluation then assesses the outcomes of specific competence objectives.

Finally, pharmacists who want to advance their practice should embrace the philosophy of lifelong self-directed learning. We must think globally and act locally; the mindset that created a problem cannot be used to solve it. The pharmacist of tomorrow is one with specialised knowledge and skill to solve society’s problems. As long as mankind takes medications, there will always be a future for the pharmacist. A former US President, JFK Kennedy in a speech in 1962 described “the pharmacist as an indispensable link in the chain of national health protection and promotion. If we did not have the pharmacist, it would be necessary to invent him.”

REFERENCES

Akubue PI, Adenika FB (2001) Eds. Pharmacy Education in Nigeria; Proceedings of the Pharmacy

Curriculum Conference Organized by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria.

International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). Statement on Good Pharmacy Education

Practice, 1998

International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Global Pharmacy & Migration Report 2006

International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Global Pharmacy Workforce Report 2012

International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Policy Statement on Good Pharmacy Education

Practice, Vienna 2000

Goundrey-Smith S (2011). How to ensure effective mentoring. Available at www.pjonline.com

Accessed 17/03/2015

Miller GE. The Assessment of Clinical Skills/Competence/Performance; Acad Med (1990); 65 (9):

63-67.

Oparah AC (2010). Barriers to the implementation of pharmaceutical care In: Essentials of

Pharmaceutical Care; Lagos Cybex Publications 155-167.

Oparah AC, Eferakeya AE (2005). Attitudes of Nigerian Pharmacists towards pharmaceutical care. Pharmacy World and Science; 27 (3): 208 – 214.

Webb E. Prescribing medications: Changing the Paradigm for a Changing Health Care

System Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 1995;52:1693–5.

Why pharmacists should embrace lifelong learning – Prof. Oparah

The task of revamping pharmacy education in Nigeria to make it more functional to address the societal needs and contemporary global best practices is enormous and pharmacists who are desirous of advancing their practice and improve the image of the profession must embrace the philosophy of lifelong self-directed learning, eminent pharmacist, Professor Azuka C. Oparah has said.

Prof. Oparah said this while delivering a keynote address on the topic, ‘Advancing Pharmacy Through Strategic Workforce Development in Practice Settings’, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, during the 88th Annual National Conference of the PSN held in November.

The Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) urged Nigerian pharmacists to think globally and act locally, adding that the mindset that created a problem cannot be used to solve it.

He further stated that revamping pharmacy education in Nigeria requires a disruptive innovative approach and strong collaboration among the regulators to connect all the levels of the pharmacist’s training, from basic to a specialist practitioner.

This, he said, would only be possible with visionary and committed leadership occurring simultaneously along the strata.

“To bring about change within a diverse profession such as pharmacy, one needs a critical mass pull in the same direction; one needs general agreement about the best direction in which to move and defining and agreeing on this direction has been the greatest challenge,” he said.

Below is the full text of Prof. Oparah’s keynote address:

Introduction

I am grateful to the President and Members of the 88th National Conference Planning Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria for the honour to be keynote speaker today. The objective of this discourse is to explore how to elevate pharmacy practice in diverse settings using the tool of strategic workforce development.

Access to quality medicines and competent, capable health care professionals are fundamental aspects of any health care system. Pharmaceutical human resources should ensure the uninterrupted supply of quality medicines to the population, their management, and responsible use, as vital components in improving the health of nations (FIP Workforce Report, 2012).

Pharmacy workforce comprises pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, counter assistants, and pharmaceutical scientists. Pharmacists practice their profession in diverse settings which we have often identified the major ones as academia/research institutions, hospital, community, industry, and regulatory agencies.

Introspection into pharmacy practice in Nigeria reveals promises that have yet to be delivered. Academic pharmacists, who are producers of pharmacists seem isolated from the real world and have been described as Pharisees because they do not have opportunities to practice what they teach. Hospital pharmacy is largely focused on supply of medications with minimal patient counselling during dispensing and fragments of pharmaceutical care. Community pharmacists supply medications, with great opportunities for helping community dwellers use medications responsibly, as well as expand their frontiers to health promotion and disease-prevention, especially with an aging population.

Industrial pharmacists are experts in pharmaceutical marketing and dosage formulation. Manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients and developing new remedies for emerging diseases represent huge opportunities for research and development. The regulation of pharmacy education, pharmacy practice, and pharmaceutical products makes pharmacy a profession that promises no harm to the public; when the public does not have access to safe medicines, there is a breach of trust. Pharmacists should fight circulation of fake/substandard drugs, drug faking is corruption; fake people cannot fight fake drugs.

Pharmacist workforce density

Pharmacists represent the third largest health care professional group in the world. The pharmacists-to-population ratios vary widely from less than five pharmacists per 100,000 population to as high as over 200 pharmacists per 100,000 population in some countries. The average ratio in the Western Pacific countries is about 25 times more than that of the countries in the African region and has the highest ratios compared to other regions.

The ratio is also related to the economic status of the country, with the low income countries having the lowest ratio and high income countries having the highest ratio (FIP Global Pharmacy & Migration Report, 2006). As at September 2015, 20,000 pharmacists were registered with the PCN and about 580 pharmacists have died in the past five years (PCN, 2015).

Given that some pharmacists engage in non-pharmaceutical jobs and some have migrated, Nigeria has a density of about 125 pharmacists per 100,000 population. There is inequitable distribution between urban and rural areas and even among the cities. Roughly 1,600 young pharmacists from Nigerian and overseas schools will be released yearly into the labour market as from 2015. We are heading towards a glut and fall in market price; time has come to place the cap.

Pharmacist workforce development

Pharmacist workforce development is undertaken in the following layers:

* Undergraduate training

* Internship training

* Postgraduate training (academic and professional)

* Continuing professional development

* Lifelong self-directed learning

* Mentoring

• Undergraduate training – Pharmacy education affects pharmacy practice; both the education and practice are regulated by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) in pursuance of the enabling act. The standards of pharmacy education are also set by the National Universities Commission (NUC). The International Federation of Pharmacists (FIP) recommends global standards for local adaptation. Pharmacy   is an international profession and training practitioners using a global template enables global workforce mobility.

Some issues regarding undergraduate training that need strategic attention are:

1. Curriculum accreditation – Both NUC and PCN undertake programme accreditation. Pharmacy faculties are required to satisfy both bodies. This process results in duplication and wasting of scarce resources. Joint accreditation between PCN and NUC is recommended for Schools of Pharmacy in Nigeria. Furthermore, so far, accreditation criteria have focused on the relevant structures, but there is now need to focus on the processes and learning outcomes as ICT makes it possible to produce good students using compact but complex structural and process models.

2. 2. Training curriculum – Over the years, we have grappled with an overloaded pharmacy curriculum that renders our students more confused than they were before they entered pharmacy schools. The curriculum also leaves our students with low self-esteem, as even the best graduating students in Pharmacy will tell you that they struggled to p

Each time we talk about curriculum review, some faculty members will vehemently defend their territories and may allow you to add a few new courses. Because we add without dropping, we end up overloading the curriculum to the extent that some undergraduate and postgraduate syllabuses are the same. We urgently need to revamp the training curriculum. In fact, I suggest a 30 per cent reduction, so as to allow the students some time to reflect and apply themselves.

The mindset we used to create problems cannot be used to solve them. Reviewing and updating pharmacy training curriculum requires courage and foresight on the part of the regulators. To this end, I wish to observe that the proposed BMAS for PharmD has confused the past with the future and needs to be revamped, so that the second error will not be greater than the first.

2. Structure of pharmacy faculties – The traditional 5- or 6- department structure is overdue for expansion to promote professional growth and development. I recall that the 2012 PSN Pharmacy Education Summit adopted three new departments: Public Health Pharmacy, Social & Administrative Pharmacy, and Agricultural & Veterinary Pharmacy.

     Furthermore, we need to pursue the creation of more directorates at practice level and rotate the headship of pharmacy departments among chief pharmacists and above, as we have in the universities, if we are to embrace innovative practice. Ironically, Pharmacy is a faculty in school but shrunk to one department in practice; that creates structural interactive dissonance.

4. 4. Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree programme – The nomenclature of entry to practics degree in pharmacy has seen an evolutionary trend from Diploma to BSc, to BPharm, to PharmD or MPh This change is accompanied with upwards review of curriculum and duration of training. Only the University of Benin was courageous to start the programme in 2000 and after 15 years, no other school has. Despite the reasons offered, these other schools need help.

The University of Benin model has local adaption of retaining the basic pharmaceutical sciences and terminal clinical focus. The American Educational Credential Evaluators Evaluation Report in 2009 indicated that the University of Benin (Uniben) PharmD degree is equivalent to the US PharmD degree. Therefore, holders of Uniben PharmD are currently recognised in the US and other countries. But they are begging for recognition in Nigeria because we did not speak with one voice when we should have done so, and in line with scriptural quotes, a man’s greatest enemies are members of his own household. In Luke 4:24 and Mark 6:4: Jesus said to them, “Prophets are respected everywhere except in their own home town and by their relatives and their family.”

Ghana joined the world league in 2012 when Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology transited from BPharm to PharmD degree. In transiting from BPharm to PharmD, we have to accept to change the way we think and the way we act regarding pharmacy education and practice. This change entails new attitudes, new mindsets, acquisition of new knowledge and skills and most importantly, willingness to give up some of our so called traditional or conventional ways of doing things.

We must respond to change and the only way to become relevant with time is to embrace new ideas rather than sticking to our traditional comfort zones. Pharmacy is a global profession and there are changes that have occurred worldwide in response to changes in healthcare delivery systems, technology and consumer behaviour. Such changes include transition from BPharm to PharmD and moving from product-oriented practice to pharmaceutical care practice.

Nigerian Pharmacy Schools should stop offering BPharm degree that has been phased out by those who introduced pharmacy education to us. It is like sticking to your old black and white television when the colour television has become ultra-thin. I therefore call on the National Universities Commission and the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria to formally recognise the establishment of the Doctor of Pharmacy degree programme in Nigerian Pharmacy Schools, so that the training of Nigerian pharmacists will be at par with what obtains in the contemporary world.

5. 5. Pharmaceutical care education – Pharmaceutical care is the current philosophy of pharmacy practice worldwid It affects the way pharmacists think and the way they practise, irrespective of the practice-setting. Pharmaceutical care represents both a paradigm shift and disruptive innovation in health care. The pharmacist becomes a problem solver rather than a mere dispenser of medications. The overall gains include assurance of the quality of the prescribing of physicians, improving quality of life of the sick within realistic costs and maintaining the quality of life of the healthy population.

The world-wide acceptance of pharmaceutical care as the mission of the pharmacy profession is shaping pharmaceutical education and practice. As a result, pharmaceutical care was adopted as the focus of good pharmacy education (FIP 1998). Our study indicates that Nigerian pharmacists have positive attitudes towards pharmaceutical care and favour a combination of pharmaceutical care and traditional pharmacy practice; with a gradual introduction of pharmaceutical care in different practice settings (Oparah, et al., 2005)

Pharmaceutical care education in Nigeria should start with training the trainers, developing practice sites and should be student-cantered and outcome-oriented. Approaches to improve pharmaceutical care education include early introduction of pharmaceutical care in the pharmacy curriculum, use of actual patients to teach in the classroom, exposing students to shadow experience at practice sites, and use of virtual patients, especially where access to real patients is a barrier (Oparah, 2010).

Internship training

A mandatory requirement for registration of fresh pharmacists is that they undergo a period of 12-months supervised training in an approved site or split sites. For this training to be outcome-oriented, the required competences should be clearly spelt out to guide both the trainees and their preceptors.

With 17 accredited pharmacy schools and five awaiting accreditation, there is a growing number of prospective internees: 1008 (2012), 1197 (2013), and 1505 (2014) plus pharmacists trained overseas: 80 (2012), 73 (2013), 104 (2014), and 123 (2015). However, there are 208 accredited internship sites as at this review period (PCN 2015).

The implication is that most fresh pharmacy graduates will stay at home for 1-2 years before they can secure a place for internship. Nobody should expect these young professionals suffering early professional frustration to love their profession. Before we preach to them to think of what they should do for their profession, their profession should first think of what to do for them. Therefore, the PCN and PSN should actively search out and accredit more internship centres and also assist interns with placement in available centres.

Pre-registration examination

Pre-registration examination is an international practice. In Nigeria, it is necessary to guarantee the quality of entrants to pharmacy profession for the common good of the society. With the advent of several public and private schools of pharmacy, there is a wide variation in the quality of students on admission and the quality of graduates; pre-registration examination will become the final clearance house for all. Therefore, the PCN should clearly define the syllabus and guidelines for the pre-registration examination ahead of its commencement. Introduction of pre-registration examination was adopted in PCN’s Pharmacy Education Conference in 2001 and PSN’s Summit in 2012. Let us not become active members of “NATO – No Action, Talk Only” according to Prof. Fola Tayo.

Postgraduate training

Most pharmacists call themselves experts on drugs. Please note that a first degree can hardly produce an expert. Pharmacists should therefore seek further education after the pharmacy degree. The global trend in health care is for professionals to specialise; the future offers little hope for generalists.

While the schools of pharmacy can produce higher academic degrees, they are not suitable for professional degrees. This is where regional and national colleges such as the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists will come in to produce Fellows, who can, on appointment, function as specialists and consultants in practice settings.

Pharmacists can train and specialise as Antibiotic Pharmacists, Oncology Pharmacists, Cardiovascular & Renal Pharmacists, Nutrition Support Pharmacists, Psychiatric Pharmacists and Diabetes Educators etc. The future of hospital pharmacy practice lies in creating several areas of specialisation rather than employing everyone as just pharmacist, where there will be no distinction in the job description of different cadres of pharmacists.

Furthermore, qualifying bodies such as the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists only certify their Fellows. It is the duty of the professional regulator to issue licence to practice. Therefore, the PCN should develop a credentialing system for specialised pharmacists and not give everyone the same annual licence to practice as a pharmaceutical chemist.

Continuing professional development

The FIP Statement on Good Pharmacy Education Practice states that Continuing Professional Development must be a lifelong commitment for every practicing pharmacist. The concept of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) can be defined as “the responsibility of individual pharmacists for systematic maintenance, development and broadening of knowledge, skills and attitudes, to ensure continuing competence as a professional, throughout their careers” (FIP,

2000).

Continuing Professional Development is not more than participation in Continuing Education (CE) which, on its own, does not necessarily lead to positive changes in professional practice nor does it necessarily improve healthcare outcomes. CE is, however, an important part of a structured CPD programme, personalised for each pharmacist. CPD is a continuous cycle of reflection on learning needs, planning, action and evaluation. Based on identified national needs, the individual pharmacist should to learn how to draw up SMART plans (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed) for a personalised programme of CPD.

The Continuing Professional Development Process involves 5- step cyclical process of Self- Appraisal, Personal Plan, Action (Implementation), Documentation, and Evaluation. From the foregoing, it means that what we are currently doing is not CPD but it is mandatory to the extent of regulatory requirement for registration.

Lifelong self-directed Learning

In the real sense, learning whether structured or not occurs throughout lifetime and we literally die the day we stop to learn. Professionals should not only learn to maintain competence to practice but also to fit into societal expectations. In addition to professional literatures, we should read newspapers and magazines, books on leadership, entrepreneurship & resource management; politics and economics. We should listen to network news and watch football matches and also watch home videos to know the trends in our society.

Mentoring

Mentoring is a one–to-one relationship of professional development, usually between someone seeking professional progression and a more experienced practitioner. This could include someone seeking to develop a new expertise and a practitioner already active in that area (Goundrey-Smith 2011). Mentoring helps to develop confidence and skills of both the mentor and the mentee. Pharmacy profession in Nigeria will benefit from a structured mentoring scheme and I challenge the leadership of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria to undertake this project.

Conclusion

The task of revamping pharmacy education in Nigeria to make it more functional to address the societal needs and contemporary global best practice is enormous. This requires a disruptive innovative approach and strong collaboration among the regulator, PCN, Faculties of Pharmacy, and the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists to connect all the levels of pharmacists’ training, from basic to a specialist practitioner. This will only be possible with visionary and committed leadership occurring simultaneously along the strata.

To bring about change within a diverse profession such as pharmacy, one needs a critical mass of people pulling in the same direction. Before one can get such a critical mass pulling in the same direction, one needs general agreement about the best direction in which to move and defining and agreeing on this direction has been our greatest challenge.

The mission of the profession of pharmacy is to improve public health through ensuring safe, effective, and appropriate use of medications. Contemporary pharmacy practice reflects an evolving paradigm from one in which the pharmacist primarily supervises medication distribution and counsels patients, to a more expanded and team-based clinical role providing patient-centered medication therapy management, health improvement, and disease prevention services (Webb 1995). Pharmacists should learn to make effective use pharmacy technicians to free time for their involvement in expanding roles in health care delivery.

Education stimulates change in practice. There is a shift in the pharmacy practice philosophy and education which we must embrace: from drug product to drug therapy, from pharmacy to bedside, from dispenser to caregiver, from solo to team, from knowledge to information, from as ordered to as best prescribed, and from drug distribution to pharmaceutical care; where pharmacists promote access to safe medications and their responsible use.

To become responsive, pharmacy education needs to change in three fundamental domains: the teachers should change, the curriculum should change, and mode of delivery and evaluation should change. Teachers need training and re-orientation to reflect on the purpose of pharmacy education which is to produce competent practitioners and not to give abstract knowledge. Revamping the training template entails a competency-based learning rather than compartmentalisation into pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, pharmacognosy and clinical pharmacy. In my mind these departments should be structures with an integrated function; this integration further extends to biomedical & medical departments.

Based on the global competences for pharmacists, the competence pyramid (Miller 1990) of knowing it, knowing how to do it, showing how to do it, and doing it will expect the pharmacist to acquire competences in pharmaceutical care, public health, management, and production/quality assurance of medicines. The new approach to student-centered teaching indicates active learning, problem solving, communication skills and teamwork; evaluation then assesses the outcomes of specific competence objectives.

Finally, pharmacists who want to advance their practice should embrace the philosophy of lifelong self-directed learning. We must think globally and act locally; the mindset that created a problem cannot be used to solve it. The pharmacist of tomorrow is one with specialised knowledge and skill to solve society’s problems. As long as mankind takes medications, there will always be a future for the pharmacist. A former US President, JFK Kennedy in a speech in 1962 described “the pharmacist as an indispensable link in the chain of national health protection and promotion. If we did not have the pharmacist, it would be necessary to invent him.”

REFERENCES

Akubue PI, Adenika FB (2001) Eds. Pharmacy Education in Nigeria; Proceedings of the Pharmacy

Curriculum Conference Organized by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria.

International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). Statement on Good Pharmacy Education

Practice, 1998

International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Global Pharmacy & Migration Report 2006

International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Global Pharmacy Workforce Report 2012

International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Policy Statement on Good Pharmacy Education

Practice, Vienna 2000

Goundrey-Smith S (2011). How to ensure effective mentoring. Available at www.pjonline.com

Accessed 17/03/2015

Miller GE. The Assessment of Clinical Skills/Competence/Performance; Acad Med (1990); 65 (9):

63-67.

Oparah AC (2010). Barriers to the implementation of pharmaceutical care In: Essentials of

Pharmaceutical Care; Lagos Cybex Publications 155-167.

Oparah AC, Eferakeya AE (2005). Attitudes of Nigerian Pharmacists towards pharmaceutical care. Pharmacy World and Science; 27 (3): 208 – 214.

Webb E. Prescribing medications: Changing the Paradigm for a Changing Health Care

System Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 1995;52:1693–5.

It was a grand event in Lagos as West Africa’s foremost journal, Pharmanews, along with nine other broadcast and print media, bagged different categories of awards for contributing to the advancement of the Nigerian health sector.

The colourful ceremony which took place at R & A City Hotel, Ikeja, on 19 November, had several health professionals, guests and programme sponsors in attendance.

Speaking at the event, Prince Ifeanyi Dike, one of the organisers, praised the recipients of the award saying that they justified it.

“The essence of the Health Media Award is to recognise and honour those who have been in the vanguard of projecting the health sector. This is why we took our time picking the media and personalities whose efforts are felt from both print and broadcast media,” he stressed.

Butressing his view, Dr Bamidele Oshalusi, consultant neurologist, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital noted that no one could deny the fact that information released to the public from the recipients over the years had not only been reliable, but also life-saving.

While congratulating the awardees, Vivian Dunu, executive chairman of Maydon Pharma, announced that the company was glad to be a part of the occasion.

“In health, we need the support of everybody. The unfortunate incident of Ebola breakout last year showed that we can indeed succeed if we agree to come together. The focus should always be on the patient,” she urged.

Recipients of the 2015 edition of Media Health Awards were Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi (Publisher, Pharmanews), Cordelia Okpei (Health edition on AM Life, Metro FM), Dr Wale Adeboje (Doctor’s Puzzle, Cool FM), Franca Osakwe (Health Column, National Mirror Newspaper), Mary Alale-Yusuf (Health Matters, Channels TV), Funmi Akingbade (Time-Out, Galaxy TV), Habibah Basanya (Health Issue, TVC), Olushola Ogundipe (Health editor, Vanguard Newspaper), Jibeh Ologeh (R-Wells Media) and Funmi Myk-Adeniran (Loyin Ladun, NTA).

Among the dignitaries at the event were Chief Donatus Dunu, chairman of Maydon Pharmaceuticals; Dr Akin Erinosho, director of disease control, Lagos State Ministry of Health; Rajeev Rajan, territory head (West Africa) Narayana Health; Chief Emeka Okafor, managing director of All American Products Limited; and Oluwatoyin Olajide, chief operating officer, Air Peace Airline.

For the vision and mission of the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacists (NAPharm) to be fully realised in the country, the war against drug abuse, especially among the youth population, must be won by pharmacists in collaboration with other regulatory bodies, former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) and immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, have said.

Gowon, who is an honorary Fellow of NAPharm, and Jega, a guest at the Investiture and Award Night of NAPharm, held at the Sheraton Hotels and Towers, on 27 October, 2015, also stressed the need for pharmacists to intensify efforts in curbing the circulation of substandard drugs in the country.

Prof. Jega, who was given the first NAPharm Lifetime Achievement award, for his   immeasurable service to his fatherland, decried the upsurge in indiscriminate use of prescription drugs among young people, which has led to the death of thousands.

He noted how the misuse of ethical drugs has become trendy among youths, noting that political thugs and party vanguards are getting hooked on codeine, among other opioid pain medications that are strictly prescription drugs in other countries.

In his words: “I urge the academy and the pharmaceutical profession to pay attention to the way and manner in which prescription drugs are being sold over the counter. This is doing a lot of damage to our youths, in particular, because some of these drugs are addictive.

“Many youths, young men and women, regrettably, can just walk into a patent medicine store or pharmacy and buy these over-the-counter drugs, as many bottles as they wish, and many of them have now become addicted to them. This is causing problems in many parts of the country. I know that it is a very serious problem in the part of the country that I come from.

“So, I believe that having been given this award, it also gives me the opportunity to urge leading and respected pharmacists, whether industrial or professors, to begin to pay attention to ethical issues related to selling drugs over-the-counter, because the damage this is doing to our youths is really going to be massive and needs to be addressed appropriately.”

Commending the new inductees of NAPharm. for having run a good race to reach the zenith of their profession, General Gowon reminded them that to whom much is given, much is required, adding that the critical area of their intervention is overcoming counterfeit drugs in the nation.

Gowon, who recalled the achievements of the late former NAFDAC DG, prof. Dora Akunyili, in combating the menace of fake drugs, stated that though the agency continues to sustain the tempo after her demise, more still needs to be done.

He said practitioners must rededicate themselves to the fight against fake and substandard products all around the country, noting that, while the situation is not peculiar to Nigeria, NAFDAC’s relentless efforts over the years is yet to succeed “as perpetrators are more determined and very much in the unfortunate business.”

The high point of the event was the decoration of the new Fellows, among whom were Professor of Pharmacognosy, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Olukemi Odukoya; Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Matthew Urhoghide; Professor of Pharmacokinetics/Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Chinedum Peace Babalola; Dr Evans Chidomere; Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology & Industrial Pharmacy, Amarauche Chukwu; Pharm. Ngozi Chu-Madu and Pharm. Olakunle Ekundayo.

Also inducted were: Professor Joshua Eniojukan, Professor Mbang Nyong Femi-Oyewo, Professor Isa Marte Hussaini, Professor Jacob Adegboyega Kolawole, Professor Udoma Mendie, Professor Nelson Ochepe, Professor Abiodun Ogundaini, Professor Tiwalade Olugbade, Professor Philip Olurinola and Professor Grace Onawunmi.                       Others were: Sir Nnamdi Obi, Pharm. Nnamdi Nathan Okafor, Pharm. Ikechukwu Ugwu John, Professor Anthony Obiosa Onyekweli, and Professor Cyril Odianose Usifoh.

Earlier on, President of the Academy, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, explained how fortunate the Academy was, in bringing together bright minds whose education and experience would be jointly and severally shared while they remained Fellows of NAPharm.

The president further highlighted the objectives of the Academy, stating that it would provide a platform to influence national and state policies which would enable the fulfilment of the vision, mission, rights and obligations of Pharmacy.

He therefore urged all pharmacists to perform their roles in the society, saying it is their duty to ensure that things get better, not bitter with Pharmacy.