To sustain the  success  achieved in stamping out the Ebola Virus Disease from across Africa, eminent health care practitioners in Nigeria and beyond have identified the development of home-based mechanisms, as well as local funding of research & development as effective ways of strengthening emergency responses to Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID).

The health professionals, who converged at the Eko Hotel & Suites, on 27 July, deliberated  on topics such as EID; Biosecurity and Biothreat Reduction; Public Learning and Understanding of Science; Bioethics; Bio-banking; and Vaccine Strategy for the Ebola Belt of Africa.

In his welcome address at the event, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, noted that the conference was organised to consolidate the gains of the first conference, review the status of implementation of the resolutions, chart the way forward for prevention and control of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, and bring the issues of bio-security to the front burner.

“It is intended to help develop the continents’ own strategic intervention and response mechanisms to increasing outbreak of Emerging Infectious Disease (EID) and biological terrorism threats. These home-grown responses will be aligned with the evolving Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) and the “One Health” paradigm envisioned by the World Health Organisation (WHO)”, he said.

Dr Idris further explained that the three-day conference was important in the wake of the possibility of another infectious disease outbreak in Africa, stating that all it required was to have a formidable health care system that could withstand any epidemic.

“It doesn’t have to be Ebola or Lassa,” he said. “We need to be alert against any emergency. We are also here to share knowledge about ongoing researches and disseminate outcomes of such research that are beneficial to the populace”.

The Principal Investigator, Global Emerging Pathogens Treatment Consortium (GET) Prof. Akin Abayomi, while fielding questions from journalists at the event, emphasised the need for African countries to  sponsor the continent’s medical research and development, adding that this would go a long way in resolving its internal challenges.

The GET’s coordinator, who condemned the concept of international donation for research, asserted that the trend should be reversed immediately so that African countries could take responsibility for their health and infectious disease responses.

“We have been relying entirely or to a significant degree on resources coming from outside Africa to fund research and development in Africa but this has not delivered the needed system to us. Hence, our own funding must come from our government, to support indigenous health care, tertiary academic units, so that we are not caught flat footed, like we were caught with Ebola.

Transforming the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry into a foremost player in the global market requires some strategic changes that will involve all stakeholders and affect all sectors of the industry, renowned pharmaceutical scientist and entrepreneur, Prof. Isa Odidi, has said.

Speaking in a recent  interview with Pharmanews, Prof. Odidi, who is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Intellipharmaceutics International, a Canada-based revolutionary pharmaceutical company, specialising in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of generic controlled-release and targeted-release oral solid dosage drugs, said that, given the right conditions, the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry should be a major source of foreign exchange earnings, aside from helping to sustain the economy and promoting quality of life of the nation.

The Kano State-born innovator, who is regarded as one of the most cited African pharmaceutical scientists in patent and intellectual property history, noted that a major shift in current business strategy and practices will go a long way in repositioning the country’s pharmaceutical sector, adding that the first place to start the required transformation is the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

NAFDAC, according to Prof. Odidi, must be overhauled, reorganised and empowered to function more effectively and efficiently as other similar regulatory agencies in the world, especially the FDA in the United States.

The celebrated technocrat, who was recently appointed a member of the Strategy and Development Committee of the Global Leadership Foundation, urged pharmaceutical companies in the country to willingly embrace new business models based upon external networks and third party partnerships.

He further tasked the companies to reconfigure their manufacturing facilities to meet FDA and European regulations, reinvent their production models to focus on high-end manufacturing, as well as foraying into other areas, such as medical devices, high value OTC and consumer health care products.

Citing the success story of Intellipharmaceutics, which is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NASDAQ) in the United States and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) in Canada, Prof. Odidi stated that in order to survive the seemingly harsh business environment and take their businesses to the next level, pharmaceutical entrepreneurs must think radically and be ready to identify and leverage opportunities for expansion.

He added that the government, on its part, must be committed to the growth of the pharmaceutical industry by investing massively in research and development, and creating conducive economic environment for the sustainability and viability of the industry.

Below are excerpts from the interview:

 It is not easy to qualify for quotation and listing on the stock exchange as a public company. But Intellipharmaceutics International is already quoted both on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange. How did you achieve this?

Taking Intellipharmaceutics public and listing it on two of the best international stock exchanges in USA and Canada is not an easy thing. It happened in a reverse takeover – when Intellipharmaceutics bought the public company, Vasogen, and merged it with Intellipharmaceutics.

We had always wanted to make Intellipharmaceutics public and even had applications made for the listing. But then the opportunity to reverse takeover a public company came up and we took it. Of course, that meant dilution of our holdings and going into partnership/ownership with others; but it was for the better. It is better to own a chunk of a big company rather than whole of a small company. One per cent share in a billion dollar company is better than 100 per cent of a million dollar company. This is one thing entrepreneurs should understand!

However, bringing in outside investors comes with some risk. The biggest hurdle we faced in going public was investors asking us to consider stepping down from management position and focusing on the laboratory research. One of the things they were putting in front of us was, ‘We will give you somebody to manage the company. This is an issue many entrepreneurs, particularly immigrants here in Canada and the USA, face because people believe we don’t have the management skills and they want to replace the entrepreneur with someone who has an MBA.

The irony is that I had an MBA from the reputable Rotman School of Business Management at the University of Toronto. There was a lot of negotiation and pressure when going public, but it is important to note that Intellipharmaceutics is a technology company and needs technology management expertise with an entrepreneur’s flair.

We have since proved many of those investors wrong over the years through dedication to the company’s growth. We have invested a lot in the company — money, time, everything. Our life is in this company and we have the passion to drive it, therefore our interests are aligned with the company succeeding. Frankly speaking, we are smart people to have come this far so we think we should continue to run the company and we’ll get to a point where we might decide someone else should run this but not now!

 How can the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry benefit from your success story?

Generally speaking, the pharmaceutical industry is very important because of its role in growing and sustaining the economy, as well as promoting social wellbeing and quality of life of a nation. In developed nations such as Canada and the USA, it is a major source of medical innovation and foreign exchange earnings.

Take the example of the USA. The pharmaceutical industry is a major contributor to the US economy. The sector generates high-quality jobs and powers economic output for the US economy.  These economic impacts are as a result of the fact that the industry is well regulated and the industry’s research and development (R&D) enterprise.

The US pharmaceutical sector invests more in R&D relative to sales than any other manufacturing industry, investing more than six times the average for all manufacturing industries. The US pharmaceutical sector’s economic output, which represents the value of the goods and services produced by the sector, totalled more than $558 billion in 2014. The sector also supported another $659 billion through its vendors and suppliers and through the economic activity of its workforce, for a total of $1.2 trillion. This is an eye-opener and underlines what can be done in Nigeria.

Unfortunately, in Nigeria, this is not the case. Nigeria has neither a comparative nor a competitive advantage in pharmaceutical research, development, manufacturing and sales. Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sales is forecast at 0.89 billion dollars or 0.19% of GDP for 2015 and basically the size of a medium-sized pharmaceutical company abroad. These estimates are projected to get worse with every passing year. Thus, the share of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry in the global industry is basically zero, especially exports which are virtually non-existent.

It is about time that the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria help support a vibrant scientific and economic ecosystem that is vital to the Nigerian economy and our country’s competitiveness in the global market. Given the current state of our pharmaceutical industry, it will require a tectonic shift in current business strategy and practices if we are to succeed in repositioning Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry. However, the first place to start these seismic changes is with our regulatory agency, NAFDAC.

NAFDAC needs a complete overhaul and retooling. The key focus here is bringing its regulatory role to the fore. Currently it is not playing the part of a true regulatory agency, such as say, the FDA in the US. It needs very competent leadership that can “hit the ground running” from day one of being appointed. It needs leaders with relevant pharmaceutical/food industry regulatory experience, be it from being embedded in or having interacted (successfully and repeatedly put products through the application and approval process) with a first class regulatory agency such as the FDA in the US.

What about the pharmaceutical companies?

On their part, Nigeria’s pharmaceutical companies need to have a sharp focus on research and development (R&D) enterprise, which is currently non-existent. This should be with the objective of targeting lucrative international export markets, such as the USA and the rest of North America, Canada, Europe and Japan. They also need to adopt new business models built upon external networks and third party partnerships in order to avail themselves to new growth opportunities.

They need to position themselves to take advantage of current trend towards a business model that relies on outsourcing of many business functions, including manufacturing, and thus be in a position to provide contract manufacturing and other services to international clients.

Nigeria’s pharmaceutical companies need to reconfigure their manufacturing facilities to meet FDA and European regulations; reinvent their production models to focus on high-end manufacturing; and foraying into other areas, such as medical devices, high value OTC and consumer healthcare products.

It goes without saying that these reforms will enhance the ability of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry to successfully compete with other countries on many keys factors including cost, talent and market attractiveness – as defined by regulatory requirements, market access, IP legislation and pricing controls.

One other area of weakness is the non-existent of Phase 1-4 clinical research facilities and activities in Nigeria. Nigeria needs state-of-the-art clinical research organisations (CROs), primarily devoted to clinical research management, instead of pure research through conducting trials for drugs under development by the pharmaceutical industry etc. A vibrant clinical research environment is not only a necessary adjunct to a thriving pharmaceutical industry, it is a money spinner and potential source of foreign exchange earnings as clinical research spending tend to be a significant portion of R&D costs.

What role should the government be playing in all these?

On the part of the government, there is need for massive investment in R&D and granting of generous research tax credits and tax incentives to pharmaceutical manufacturers and R&D focused companies. An offer of highly productive manufacturing facilities with flexible production capacity by Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry, combined with investment and tax incentives from the government can position a jurisdiction with a small domestic market purchasing power to attract generic investment, mainly to produce for export markets.

I found it overwhelming to continue this piece from where we stopped the last time, as I had to dig deeper into the topic, so we would not end up leaving out some crucial parts of the problem when trying to proffer solutions to these challenges through ICT.

One part of this conundrum was to try and do a better job at identifying all the challenges of the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria and then proceed to see how ICT can help to solve these problems. The second part obtains from the first in that I then proceeded to see how ICT is helping to solve these problems in other climes and make healthcare better and improve the lives of their citizens. Let me say again that I was overwhelmed.

To say that we are way behind the world in the progress made in the pharmaceutical industry is an understatement as is obvious from the WHO ranking of the country’s healthcare sector at 187 out of 191 countries and the country ranks a high 15^th on the Failed States Index globally. The question we now want to answer is: What can we do? These answers will not be easily found but that wouldn’t stop us from attempting.

Before we start however, there is a need to demystify the acronym ICT of its mysterious meanings and definition as it is now seen as a millennial invention that is just for millennials. Information and Communications Technology refers to an “umbrella term that includes any communication device encompassing radio, television, cellular phones, computers and network hardware and software, satellite systems” that help to relay communicate information. It is said that we are in the jet age also known as the information age. ICT is therefore that device that helps you relay information so that the aphorism that Knowledge is Power now becomes real. It only now makes sense to imagine that the more information you have at your disposal, the better decisions you are able to make and the more efficient a market or an industry becomes or in fact the more efficient your business.

Having said that, we will now try to answer the question which can then be rephrased from the above as saying Can Nigeria’s Pharmaceutical Challenges be solved if Pharmacists and Stakeholders possess and can communicate more information?

The pharmaceutical sector is phased into three broad categories and so are the challenges that contribute to the overall heart-wrenching health care status ranking – Production, Markets and Care. To try and propose a one fit all solution through ICT will not just be making a mistake, it will be proferring no solutions at all and as such the solutions targeted at each of these sub-sectors will be specific to them and proffered one at a time.

For this particular piece, let us start with the sub-sector of least resistance – Markets. The pharmaceutical market in Nigeria by which I refer to the distribution network in the country handling the demand and the supply of medicines and medical products. 54.9% of this market belongs to those who are neither pharmacists or healthcare professionals and about 18% of most drugs bought are counterfeited with that figure rising to as high as 30% for anti-malarials.

How can ICT solve this problem?

The Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFID) being adopted by NAFDAC is one of the existing examples of solving the counterfeiting problems in the market and this simply entails the consumer confirming the authenticity of a product simply by sending a code to a phone number or by calling a phone number to confirm. At the back end, RFID tags ensure that the integrity of the drug supply chain is more secure by tracking the product path as it moves through the supply chain from manufacturer to distributors to wholesalers to retailers and then the final consumers. Information available to the final consumer helps such consumer to decide whether the purchased drug is then counterfeit or not.

This approach however only guarantees that the consumer is armed with information as to whether the medicine s/he is about to take is counterfeit or not. Is there a way to ensure that the  consumer does not even get a counterfeit drug at all or that the consumer does not come in contact with as many counterfeit drugs as s/he used to? Can access to information(ICT) help solve that?

As much as we could go ahead and say Government can make the efforts to ban all unlicensed suppliers and distributors, in the end, most consumers of counterfeit drugs still buy from licensed retail pharmacies who buy from licensed wholesale pharmacies and at times unlicensed wholesalers in the open market. There would be a need to make a business case here as a retail pharmacist would rather prefer to buy from a trusted wholesaler who is unlicensed and offers a cheaper price than a licensed wholesale pharmacist with a higher price.

The catch however is this, Brick and Mortar wholesale pharmacies who have more clients and are robust enough to handle the logistics of delivery will be able to afford retailer-friendly prices, but information about retailers in need of restocking their pharmacies at the point where they need it is crucial to driving that price down. If the source of distribution is clean enough, end users can be guaranteed of original and authentic medicines and medical products.

On the business side, how do we ensure that Pharmacists who go through the rigors of pharmacy schools are the ones in charge of the $1.28 billion that comes in annually through the distribution of drugs. Can access to information (ICT) help solve that too?

The attempt by the FG in recent times to develop a Mega Distribution Center which will then distribute products to regional hubs is one of the steps being taken, but since the initiative took off in 2009, there is still yet to be a headway. My thoughts on that will be to opine that good intentions do not necessarily make bad models work. As we speak, there are pharmacy professionals who are currently stakeholders in the whole distribution chain. What does not exist is the ability to locate those who are in need of medicines for their retail stores and where they are – Information. When we then compare this demand with the statistic of 10 pharmacist per 10,000 Nigerians, what we find is a gap that has to be filled by those who are non-professionals.

With a robust data-backed ICT Infrastructure, Pharmacists can have access to licensed and professional supply of drugs and can then provide the logistics need for the distribution of medicines and medical supplies from these channels to those who need it. Without information however, there is very little that can be done and the vacuum will end up being filled by those who are not trained or equipped to do such at the detriment of our country’s healthcare systems and the overall health of the nation.

All these processes and the infrastructure needed to drive these solutions are embodied in what is called e-marketing and e-commerce and as much as it is currently only obtainable in other markets in the country, the value it could bring to improving the pharmaceutical markets in Nigeria cannot and should not be underestimated.

In the next episode of this article, we would take up pharmacy care and how ICT can literally transform that sub sector too.

Jude Feranmi

Chief Operations Officer, Medrep.ng

The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has cautioned patent medicine vendors against the prescription and sales of drugs outside the approved list given to them and that they should also desist from injecting their customers.

The Registrar of the Council, Pharm. Elijah Mohammed, gave the warning during the week in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, insisting that violators will be punished accordingly.

Pharm. Mohammed, who spoke during the opening of the orientation course for 110 newly licensed  patent medicine vendors , was represented by the Director, South West Zonal Office of the PCN, Mrs Yejide Oseni, said the council would not relent in ensuring that the unwholesome practices by medicine vendors were stopped.

In a report broadcast by Channels TV, he urged the vendors not to violate any of the laws put in place to regulate their practice. “Anyone caught would be dealt with according to the law,” he said.

The PCN boss also promised that the medicine vendors would be protected from being harassed by some government agencies, but advised  them not to go outside the guidelines regulating their practice.

“The PCN has received reports across the country, of harassment of vendors by some government agencies. The registry has initiated talks with some of the government agencies, with the aim of ensuring that patent and proprietary medicine vendor license holders are protected from every form of harassment from any agency provided they abide by the list, display their license and signpost,” he told the vendors.

Poised to reduce the huge statistics of Nigerians living with glaucoma, Pfizer has commenced awareness campaign against the disease, enlightening the Lagos Monarch and his chiefs on the importance of their initiative, stating that glaucoma is the silent thief of the sight.

The leader of the Pfizer delegates to the palace, Mrs Magaret Olele, director of corporate affairs, Pfizer Nigeria and East Africa Region (NEAR) said glaucoma comes slowly, that is why it is called the silent thief of sight. “Meeting the Oba  Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos is a major landmark for us, and we are going to be doing more of this to give hope to patients, because a voice like this gives us hope, telling us that prevention of glaucoma is possible”.

Olele noted that as many advocates they have in the conversation around glaucoma the better for them, in terms of awareness and prevention, adding that the stronger the voices, the better the outcome. She said they need strong advocates like the voice of the monarch, to propagate the information about the importance of screening and prevention of the disease.

“We do a lot of screening, actually in the area of non-communicable diseases; Pfizer is really strong for pushing out screening on cardio vascular diseases, and now we are including glaucoma to our advoc.acy list.  We are doing a lot of screening in partnership with Ophthalmology Society of Nigeria, and a lot of centres on this”, Olele stated.

Responding to the laudable gesture of the organisation, Oba Akiolu expressed his interest in their initiative, disclosing that he was a patient of glaucoma 40 years ago, but he was able to nip it in the bud at the initial stage through regular eye screening and treatment.

Oba Akiolu also urged the people to maintain good hygiene, while urging Pfizer to spread their advocacy against glaucoma to the market places and religious houses in the state, stating that they will get the people in the numbers in these places.

The world’s leading developer of custom laser solutions, PhotoScribe Technologies, has launched upgrades to their LMC and LMF lasers, specifically for the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.  Solving the need for reliable, high quality marks on caplets and tablets, both laser systems are ideal for large-scale production lines. The consummate solution for the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) compliance, PhotoScribe’s laser marking solutions make tracking easy and reliable from manufacturing floor to the end consumers.

LMF and LMC series lasers provide traceability when packaging is being marked with UID (unique identification), branding of pills with logos, and do not use any consumables, making integration of the laser cleaner and more cost-efficient. With the upcoming DSCSA compliance serialization deadline in November 2017, the pharmaceutical industry is converting to full traceability methods, lasers like the LMC and the LMF, provide solutions to multiple pharma needs.

The LMC laser is exceptionally rapid, with the ability to mark on the fly at the rate of up to 410,000 pills an hour with dual laser head usage. The LMC is exceptional for drilling as well, particularly for fast and slow time release of medication. A CO2 laser, available in either air or water-cooled versions, it has a fully sealed design providing superior performance and reliability.

The LMF-UV, a new UV marking laser specifically designed for caplets and tablets, produces a very high resolution with laser sensitive additives, multilayered coatings, and caplets marking. The technology provides nearly perfect beam quality and exceptional stability over the operating range for highcontrast, low damage marking. The LMF-UV spot size can go down to 5 microns in diameter, for crisp, high resolution marking.

David Benderly, CEO of PhotoScribe, says, “We continue to see growth and acceptance of lasers which establish them as the tool of choice in the pharmaceutical industry, replacing older marking technologies. The most exciting development is the availability of affordable UV lasers, enabling very high resolution marking without the thermal impact of more commonly used infrared lasers.”

For more information about the LMF and LMC lasers in pharmaceutical manufacturing, contact PhotoScribe directly at 800-746-8672, or use the contact form on the website. For press inquiries, contact Pietra PR at info@pietrapr.com or call 212-913-9761.

About PhotoScribe Technologies:

Founded in 1998, PhotoScribe Technologies is based in New York, with offices in Minnesota and Germany. Global leader in the development of laser systems specializing in micro-marking, micro-manufacturing and microfabrication, PhotoScribe Technologies creates turnkey systems across medical, pharmaceutical, security, jewelry, packaging, and automotive industries, amongst others. Innovating solutions in customer laser development, the company has become the international “go to” for tailored solutions across the photonic, laser and “micro” spaces. PhotoScribe Technologies can be contacted via email at sales@photoscribetech.com or by calling 1-800-7468672.

The leadership of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) have called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to come up with a new economic blueprint, with the intention of salvaging the businesses of  local manufacturers from  a total collapse, in the face of the ongoing economic downturn.

The top pharmacists who narrated how their members in the industry, have been grappling with the exchange rate for some time now without any palliative measure or structure to cushion the effect, said the government must act fast in order to prevent further termination of businesses.

Details Later.

Barely a year after the World Health Organisatio (WHO) delisted Nigeria from polio-endemic nations, Nigerians were taken aback on Thursday, to hear that there was an outbreak of wild polio virus in Borno State.

Confirming the epidemic , the Minister of Health  Prof. Isaac Adewole in a statement  said the outbreak had affected two children from Gwoza and Jere Local Government Areas of the state.

According to a Vanguard report, the minister said the fresh cases were detected during a surveillance of north-eastern states by health officials from the ministry.

Adewole, who charged parents in the region to stay vigilant, said a national emergency response team had been sent to Borno State for immediate polio vaccination to prevent the spread of the virus locally and internationally.

“Local health officials with the support of partners including WHO and UNICEF are conducting detailed risk analysis to clearly ascertain the extent of circulation of the virus, and to assess overall levels of population immunity in order to guide the response.

“As an immediate response, about one million children are to be immunised in four local government areas in Borno State. Children in adjoining states of Yobe, Adamawa and Gombe will also be immunised bringing the number to about five million in the four states,” the minister stated.

WHO in a statement in Geneva on Thursday also confirmed the two new cases in Nigeria.

Its Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, who said the organisation was saddened by the development, stated that it was collaborating with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and the Federal Government to prevent more children from being paralysed.

Moeti stated, “We are deeply saddened by the news that two Nigerian children have been paralysed by polio. The government has made significant strides to stop this paralysing disease in recent years. The overriding priority now is to rapidly immunise all children around the affected area and ensure that no other children succumb to this terrible disease.”

The Director of Polio Eradication at WHO Headquarters, Dr. Michel Zaffran, revealed that genetic sequencing of the viruses were linked to a wild polio virus strain that was  detected in Borno in 2011.

Zaffran stated that a resurgence of the polio virus was not a surprise particularly in areas where it was difficult to reach children with the vaccine.

The global health agency warned neighbouring countries such as Chad to stay vigilant.

He said, “We are confident that with a swift response and strong collaboration with the Nigerian Government, we can soon rid the country of polio once and for all.  This is an important reminder that the world cannot afford to be complacent as we are on the brink of polio eradication — we will only be done when the entire world has been certified polio-free.”

Our correspondent also learnt that the Executive Secretary the United Nations Populations Fund, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, made an emergency visit to the country on Thursday morning.

He was said to have met with President Muhammadu Buhari and Adewole, in Abuja to devise a 48-hour strategy to quickly address the spread of the wild polio virus in Borno State.

Worried by the recurrent Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) cases among patients across the country, members of the Association of Hospital Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria (AHAPN) Lagos Chapter have taken the bull by the horn by matching out en mass to the Shomolu market, to enlighten the traders on the causes of ADRs and how it can be prevented.

The hospital pharmacists, who were celebrating AHAPN Day in the 2016 Pharmacy Week, thought it necessary to take the awareness campaign beyond the four corners of their respective hospitals, in order to reduce the statistics of ADRs among the populace. The outreach was however the second phase of the event of the day, as there were pre-campaign lectures to equip the druggists for the public enlightenment.

Details Later

Members of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) yesterday presented an award of excellence on community service to Oba Taofik A. A.O. Fatusi, Onifako of Ifako Kingdom, during their enlightenment campaign on the roles of pharmacists in the communities.

The community pharmacists, who were celebrating their Day in the Pharmacy Week, embarked on a walk from Ikeja to Agege axis, to educate the populace on the essence of seeking counsel from pharmacists, as regards their drugs usage.

Details later.

The Lagos State branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has publicly declared the beginning of her 2016 annual Pharmacy Week, themed:” Human resource and pharmacy practice: Leadership in turbulent times”.

The event, which is bid to take off from August 6 to 13, 2016, will feature various activities from the different technical arms and interest groups of the society.

Addressing pressmen on the essence of the Week, the state’s chairman, Gbenga Olubowale explained that it is an enlightenment programme geared towards sustaining and improving the health values of the general populace at all times. He further noted that the annual event serves as a forum for educating and enlightening pharmacists, health professionals, government and the general public on issues pertaining to health.

Olubowale, who highlighted the sub-themes of this year’s event to include: Repositioning pharmacy practice in a challenging economy; and dealing with the scourge of adverse drug reaction, stated  that the themes will discuss in details the issues of man power development in pharmacy practice as well as challenge pharmacists to provide needed leadership in their various areas of practice, in such trying times the nation is going through.

His words: “The impact of the Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) on patients has again come into the forefront with recent development of Steven Jones Syndrome (SJS) among some users of c certain types of medication. It is a serious challenge as morbidity and mortality with the ADR is quite high.

“We need to educate the public about how to identify symptoms of ADR and appropriate report mechanism put in place to manage the situation to prevent unpleasant end result as recently being observed”.

Pharm. Madehin Gafar, secretary of the state branch, while fielding questions from journalists said that the Week will focus on access to pharmacists, who serve as important interface between the populace and their drugs usage.

He also explained why the masses need to consult their pharmacists regularly, in the wake of myriads of concoctions being displayed everywhere as herbal drugs, which are capable of destroying people’s kidneys.

President Muhammadu  Buhari has recently approved the appointment of new directors for five strategic health institutions in the country. The institutions affected by the restructuring agenda are the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA), Nigerian Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCD), and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

According  to a statement issued by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the  office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Bolaji Adebiyi, the new head of the Centre for Disease Control is the Managing Partner of EpiAfric, a public health consultancy firm that focuses on Africa, Dr. Chikwe Andreas Ihekweazu. He takes over from Prof. Abdulsalami Nasidi.

Dr. Sani Aliyu, a consultant in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at Cambridge University, U.K. is the new head of the NACA. He takes over from Prof. John Idoko.

The President also appointed Prof. Babatunde Salako as the head of the NIMR. He was the Provost, College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan before his new appointment. He takes over from Prof. Innocent Ujah.

A professor of Paediatrics and Public Health at the University of Nevada, in the United States, Prof. Echezona Ezeanolue was appointed the new Executive Director of the NPHCD. He replaced Doctor Mohammed Ado.

The NHIS is now headed by Prof. Usman Yusuf, who until his appointment was a professor of Paediatrics at St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee in the United States. He replaced Mr Olufemi Akingbade, who was in acting capacity.

All appointments, according to the statement, takes immediate effect.

One major aspect of Body Language, also known as non-verbal communication, is the handwriting. The uniqueness of a handwriting sample is what makes it a useful tool for graphologists in personality assessment. As a matter of fact, handwriting analysis is about the fastest way of discovering someone’s true personality at a glance, before making an informed decision.

The importance of the handwriting cannot be over-emphasised because no two handwritings are the same. Just as the thumbprint or the DNA is unique to anyone, the handwriting of two individuals would always carry along with it the peculiarities of each of them.

 Who you are on paper

Prof. Ben Ezeogwu defined handwriting as a “graphically frozen human thought”. And because every thought precedes an action – so much so that the writing impulses which are generated in the brain travel down the nerves to the muscles of the fingers before they are crystallised on paper – then it is safe to say that you are what you write.

Temper and tempo

For a while now, I have been following closely the presidential campaign in United States of America and recently I took some time out to examine the handwriting samples of the key players in the elections – Donald Trump (for the Republican Party) and Hilary Clinton (for the Democratic Party). Let’s look at the samples.

The above is the handwriting sample of Donald Trump. The pattern of the ‘t’ bars in this piece reveals someone with a big dream; however, when the ‘t’ bar is crossed above the stem, as it appears here, it shows that the person’s goals and dreams are not in touch with reality. These people often talk about what they are going to do instead of doing it.

People whose ‘t’ bars cross the stem closer to the base usually aren’t as ambitious as those whose ‘t’ bars cross at the very top of the stem. Could that be one reason Donald Trump is contesting for the presidency?

An area of concern, however, has to do with the frequency of angularity (sharp edges) in Trump’s handwriting, particularly in the way he signed his name in this sample currently examined. Anyone with a lot of angularity or sharp edges in his handwriting is either anxious or temperamental and the frequency (tempo) of this trait in a handwriting sample reveals how well the individual is able to exhibit self-restraint or discipline. It says a lot about the tolerance level of the person.

In my opinion, Donald Trump needs some anger management lessons or perhaps graphotherapy classes to start with.  With respect to the slope of his handwriting, he, no doubt, is an incurable optimist; and the muddiness (thickness of the ink) of the handwriting sample shows a high level of aggression.

As the above sample shows, Hilary has a lot of vertical slants in her handwriting which, from the graphological point of view, shows a person who thinks from ‘the head’ and not from ‘the heart’. In order words, this handwriting sample shows someone who is rather objective than sentimental. She is not very aggressive as a person.

However, the loops in one of her upper zone letters (i.e letter ‘d’) shows that she is quite sensitive to criticism. So, the question is: Is she prepared for the heat Trump is likely to unleash on her? Maybe you are wondering who I feel would be better as the president of the United States in the coming election. Well, I leave that to the Americans to decide at the polls.

Watch out for more practical analyses in our subsequent editions. Until then, always remember, WHAT YOU WRITE IS RIGHT.