President Bola Tinubu and state governors have been urged by the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, or ACPN, to include community pharmacists in efforts to stop the spread of Ebola and other infectious diseases in the nation.
In response to the recent confirmation of Ebola in Nigeria, the group called on the Federal Government to implement a “Pharmacy First” policy across the country.
A news release signed by Pharmacist Ambrose Ezeh, the National Chairman of ACPN, contained the call and was provided to Furucinovel on Friday nite.
Ezeh called on the federal government to establish community pharmacies as front-line facilities for the early detection of suspected cases of Ebola and other infectious disease outbreaks.
In order to improve Nigeria’s preparedness for epidemics, he also advocated for the inclusion of community chemists in the country’s disease surveillance system.
He believes that community pharmacies should be officially acknowledged by the federal and state governments as essential collaborators in primary healthcare delivery and epidemic surveillance.
According to him, the program will broaden the scope of community pharmacy practice beyond just distributing medications to include early symptom recognition, health education, basic screening, and timely referral of people exhibiting symptoms suggestive of infectious diseases like Ebola.
“We believe it is essential to raise awareness and mobilise the Federal Government to approve specific investment plans to leverage the Pharmacy First Initiative as a front-line Ebola detection protocol, which stands as one of the best mechanisms to catalyse Universal Health Coverage, UHC, in Nigeria,” the statement stated.
“The initiative would extend community pharmacy practice beyond medication dispensing to include early symptom recognition, health education, basic screening, and timely referral of individuals presenting with symptoms suggestive of Ebola or other infectious diseases.”
“Our national network will initiate the ‘Pharmacy First’ screening protocol within 48 hours if President Bola Tinubu issues the enabling policy directive today.”
According to the association, implementing the approach will enhance early detection and referral of suspected cases as well as strengthen disease surveillance at the community level.