572 Plateau medicine outlets shut

A photo of Yoshinori Ohsumi of Japan can be seen on the screen at the Nobel Forum in Stockholm, after the announcement he won the Nobel Prize in Medicine on October 3, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / TT NEWS AGENCY AND TT News Agency / Stina Stjernkvist / Sweden OUT

No fewer than 572 pharmacies, patent medicine stores and illegal medicine outlets have been sealed by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria across Plateau State. The outlets were shut for various violations of pharmaceutical regulations, including cooking inside drug outlets, illegal clinical practice and unauthorised access to controlled medicines. The PCN’s Head of Department, Enforcement, Dr Suleiman Chiroma, disclosed this at a press conference in Jos on Friday at the end of a four-day enforcement exercise. Chiroma, who spoke on behalf of the Registrar/CEO of the Council, Ibrahim Ahmed, said the operation was carried out in line with the Council’s mandate under the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (Establishment) Act No. 31 of 2022. He explained that the exercise was part of efforts to enforce the National Drug Distribution Guidelines developed by the Federal Government to address Nigeria’s “chaotic drug distribution system.” “The major goal of the NDDG is to ensure drug distribution through approved channels, from the point of manufacture or importation to the end user.” “The ongoing enforcement initiative is systematically disengaging non-professional actors from the pharmaceutical supply chain and remedying deficiencies in storage infrastructure. This intervention is fundamental to the eradication of substandard and falsified medicinal products,” he said. The enforcement team visited Jos South, Jos North, Mangu, Shendam, Barkin Ladi, Qua’an Pan and Bassa Local Government Areas. Chiroma said a total of 778 premises were inspected, comprising 199 pharmacies, 499 patent medicine stores and 80 illegal outlets. “Consequently, 572 premises were sealed, including 120 pharmacies, 372 patent medicine stores, and 80 illegal outlets. In addition, five compliance directives were issued,” he said. Describing the findings as alarming, Chiroma noted that 60 per cent of the pharmacies inspected were sealed. “Of the 199 pharmacies visited, 60 percent were sealed. This finding reflects a deeply concerning standard of pharmaceutical practice within the state and underscores the need for the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria to intensify its regulatory efforts in Plateau State,” he said. Related News 397 Nigerians undergo screening to leave S’Africa Banks face N100m penalty for forex violations Imprisoned mandate: Inside ‘controvers