Akwa Ibom: Community pharmacists seek government intervention to ensure medicine security

Community pharmacists in Akwa Ibom State have raised the alarm over the spike in the cost of medications in Nigeria occasioned by what they described as a “depressed economy” and the rising cost of energy.

The association also condemned the heavy reliance on imports of medications and active pharmaceutical ingredients from China and India, despite the nation’s local capacity to produce.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 3rd Annual Scientific Conference of the association, themed, “Medicine Security in an Unstable Economy: The Role of Community Pharmacists,” held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital.

The association noted that the rising cost of energy and the volatile economy of Nigeria had led to the withdrawal of some multinational pharmaceutical companies from Nigeria, such as GlaxoSmithKline, and the collapse of local manufacturers, such as Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Company in Onna, Akwa Ibom, saying that these were threats to the…