The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, PCN, has sealed 724 pharmacies and medicine stores in Kwara State, North Central Nigeria, over regulatory breaches.
The Registrar of the Council, Ibrahim Ahmed, disclosed this in Ilorin, the state capital, while briefing newsmen on the outcome of a four-day enforcement exercise carried out by PCN personnel in the state.
The enforcement exercise covered 10 local government areas, including Ilorin South, Ilorin East, Ilorin West, Asa, Offa, Ifelodun, Oyun, Moro, Irepodun and Edu.
Represented by Dr Suleiman Chiroma, the registrar said “Over the four-day operation, the team inspected a total of 1,238 premises, comprising 167 pharmacies, 957 patent medicine stores, and 114 illegal outlets.
“Consequently, 724 premises were sealed, including 68 pharmacies, 542 patent medicine stores, and 114 illegal outlets. In addition, 11 compliance directives were issued.
“Of the total of 1,238 premises inspected during the exercise, 9% were found to be operating illegally.”
Dr Chiroma said that, “Illegal premises accounted for 15.7% of all facilities sealed due to one or more regulatory breaches.
“Among licensed operators, 59.2% of pharmacies inspected were in full compliance with regulatory standards, compared with 43% of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendor outlets. As required by law, 100% of the illegal premises identified were sealed.”
“The breaches uncovered include operation without a valid PCN licence, poor storage conditions, and unauthorised access to controlled medicines, training of apprentices, and cooking in patent medicine shops.
“These practices endanger public health and pose risks to national security when controlled drugs are diverted to criminal networks,” he explained.
He noted that the outcome of the enforcement exercise was a relatively low rate, which reflected improved regulatory outcomes in the state.
Dr Chiroma warned that, “any breach of established regulations will be met with decisive enforcement action by the Council.”
The PCN Registrar urged members of the public to always obtain their medicines from premises duly licensed by the council in order to avert treatment failures, antimicrobial resistance and possible deaths.
He said that a duly licensed PCN could be verified through the valid PCN license prominently displayed within the facility, adding that, “the Council is committed to advancing Universal Health Coverage(UHC) in line with the federal government’s health agenda.”
He added that, “UHC is unattainable without access to safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable medicines.”, warning that, “when medicines are dispensed by untrained persons or stored in unsuitable conditions, treatment failures, antimicrobial resistance, and avoidable deaths increase.”
