Pharmacists Council of Nigeria Nigeria (PCN) says it is collaborating with Management Sciences for Health (MSH) an NGO to carryout research aimed at improving service delivery by patent medicine dealers.
Mr Elijah Mohammed, the Registrar of the Council disclosed this at a two-day national stakeholders meeting on repositioning Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) on Saturday in Abuja.
Mohammed said the repositioning of PPMVs was in line with the Federal Government’s renewed commitment to drive Universal Health Access through primary health care.
Mohammed, who identified PPMVs and community pharmacists as first point of call by majority of Nigerians seeking healthcare services reiterated the council’s commitment to do everything possible in ensuring their services meet the target goals of quality health care delivery.
The registrar said the research project, which would be in three phases,would identify gaps in operations of PPMVs with recommendations on how to address them.
Mohammed further said the research findings would also identify opportunities that could be leverage upon to improve healthcare service delivery.
According to him, the meeting is aimed at sharing vision, goals and updates of the PCN/MSH.
The meeting was also convened to harvest views, ideas and experiences on ways healthcare service delivery could be improved in patent medicine shops across the country.
“We are not unaware of the need to strike a delicate balance between the need to reposition the PPMVs and clear definition of the boundary of their operations.
“If the findings of the field survey and desk review of operations of the PPMVs are of anything to go by, I think repositioning of PPMVs for improved service delivery should be given priority attention.
“In the same vein, if we want to please God through service to humanity our main concern, then we need to work together to sanitise and improve the operations of PPMVs at this defining season of our dear country,” Mohammed said.
Similarly, Mrs Adjo Mfodwo, Director Private Sector Programmes Partnership on Pharmaceutical and Technology of MSH emphasised that PPMVs should be well empowered, informed to enable them rendered the desired efficient and best pharmaceutical services.
According to her, if they are well empowered on what there content should be poor health indices in the country will witness remarkable improvement.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that MSH is one of the implementing partners on research geared toward repositioning PPMVs to ensure quality health care services.
Also, Mrs Zainab Shariff, Deputy Director and Head Traditional Medicine, Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH ) urged all stakeholders to prioritise repositioning of PPMVs adding that they are strategic and critical in our quest to ensure Universal Health Coverage among others.
Shariff who noted that PPMVs was not an all comers affairs however urged the council to set out criteria to ascertain the qualification of PPMVs among others.
“Repositioning is what we need to do as pharmacists, gone were the days where anyone can pick up a form and open pharmacy shops.
“Such practices should be discouraged by setting out criteria and qualification to be attain by whoever is clamouring for patent medicine vendor,” Shariff advised. (NAN)