President of the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy, (NAPharm), Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, has said that for the present government to boast a vibrant and thriving health care sector, it is imperative for the in-coming health minister to imbibe the culture of teamwork as well as transmit such to all members of the health care team.
This was made known during the press conference organised to announce the forthcoming investiture of new Fellows of the Academy, also charged the in-coming health minister on the need to increase the national health budget to the required WHO standard which is 15 per cent of the national budget.
Adelusi-Adeluyi who was ably represented by the Vice President of NAPharm, Pharm (Sir) Ifeanyi Atueyi, lamented the recurrent inadequate budgetary allocation to the health sector, noting that Nigeria had never given up to 10 per cent allocation to health, much less 15 per cent. This constitutes a major setback in the subdivision, he said.
He therefore urged the would-be health minister to focus on the two key areas of harmony and funding, for the nation’s health care delivery system to compete favourably with those of developed climes.
The Assistant General Secretary of NAPharm, Sir Anthony Akhimien, explained the criteria for the selection of the 22 new Fellows of the Academy out of about 20,000 pharmacists in the country. He noted that the selected pharmacists had distinguished themselves in their different areas of practice.
“Many of them are lecturers who have imparted thousands of students in pharmacy schools, as well as those in the community, industry, and drug importation, who have contributed immensely to the growth of the profession,” he said.
He however admitted that the present number of pharmacists available in the country was inadequate to meet the need of the over 170 million Nigerians, urging all universities in the country to establish schools of pharmacy, while the existing schools should expand their capacity in order to train sufficient pharmacists to meet the health care needs of the citizens.
On the essence of the investiture of new Fellows of the Academy to Nigerians, Pharm. Isreal Ade Popoola, chairman, Board of Fellows (BoF) PSN and Fellow of NAPharm, stated that NAPharm Fellows had been playing great roles in conflict and crisis resolution in the health sector, citing the instance of when the president of NAPharm led a delegation to meet with the committee set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan to resolve cases of unhealthy rivalry and acrimony in the health sector.
He said the committee which was headed by Yayale Ahmed received the delegation while they offered the chairman their ideas on how to move the sector forward.
He, however, expressed fears over the continuation of the committee in the new administration, adding that there should be room for continuity
Other Fellows present at the briefing were, Pharm. Paul Enebeli, chairman, Committee of Investiture of New Fellows; Pharm (Sir) Ike Onyechi, treasurer of NAPharm, and Nigerian chairman, West Africa Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP); Pharm. Lere Baale, director, Business School Netherlands; and Pharm. Remi Adeseun, NAPharm Fellow and CEO Rodot Group.
