The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has taken action to clamp down on unregulated medicine outlets in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
News About Nigeria reports that a total of 531 outlets have been shut down for violations, according to the announcement made by Stephen Esumobi, the Director of Enforcement, during a press briefing in Abuja.
The violations included operating without registration, poor documentation, and the unsupervised stocking of ethical products.
“The council’s National Enforcement team carried out a week-long enforcement exercise in the FCT, visiting 908 premises, including pharmacies, patent medicine shops, and illegal medicine outlets. The team sealed 531 premises, including 90 pharmacies, 144 patent medicine shops, and 297 illegal medicine shops,” Esumobi stated.
Esumobi said that the council is harnessing the power of technology to enhance drug accessibility for patients.
“PCN is developing software for people to source their drugs anywhere they are,” he revealed.
In a nod to the growing role of technology in healthcare, Esumobi acknowledged the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) but stressed that it cannot replace the essential human elements of care, particularly verbal communication between pharmacists and patients.
Esumobi urged the public to report any suspected illegal drugstores or practitioners through the PCN website.
Also, the PCN has established state and zonal offices, along with pharmaceutical inspection committees and patent and proprietary medicines vendor licence committees.
These bodies are tasked with overseeing and ensuring compliance within the industry.
Moreover, the council has organised orientation and continuing education programmes for owners of patent medicine shops in the FCT, aiming to bring them in line with legal and professional standards.
