Update from the Registry – August 01, 2021

Dear  Colleagues,

On behalf of the management and staff of the Pharmacists Council of  Nigeria (PCN), I wish to welcome all practitioners within the Nigeria Pharmaceutical sector into the month of August. It is evident that the world is facing  the third wave of COVID-19,  characterized with the Delta variant of  the virus ravaging many countries. Let me therefore on this note, implore all colleagues to continue to rise up to the defense of the good people of Nigeria while also ensuring adequate protection of yourselves against the  virus.

I am pleased to inform you of the induction of the one hundred and fifty-nine(159) Pharmacy Graduates who were successful at the First Cycle of 2021 Foreign Pharmacist   Graduate Orientation Programme (FPGOP) which was conducted on Friday, July 16, 2021. The event was conducted at the PCN Head Office/Registry, Abuja in full  compliance with all the COVID-19 protocols. Kindly join me in congratulating these newly inducted graduates into the profession of Pharmacy.

Furthermore, I wish to inform all that  the registration for the second cycle of the Foreign Pharmacist Graduate Orientation Programme (FPGOP) has commenced. This second cycle has been scheduled to commence on August 15, 2021 and would be  taking place at the University of  Ilorin, Kwara State (North) and University of Port-Harcourt, Rivers State (South). Interested  candidates and the general public are advised to visit www.pcn.gov.ng for more information on the programme.

Also,  in  the month of July the PCN  undertook accreditation  exercise to the Faculty of  Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chukwuemeka  Odumegu Ojukwu University, Anambra State between July 5 -8,  2021. Furthermore,  re-accreditation exercises were  undertaken  to  the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Uyo, Akwa  Ibom State, and Faculty of Pharmacy, Olabisi  Onabanjo University, Sagamu, Ogun State. These were done in  the period  between July 12-15, 2021 and July 26 – 29, 2021, respectively.

In keeping pace with the determination to sanitize the pharmaceutical practice environment, the PCN Enforcement team has stepped   up in keeping pace with the determination to sanitize the pharmaceutical practice environment, the PCN Enforcement team has stepped up the tempo of its activities nationwide. In this regard, the team visited Edo State within the month of July. During the enforcement exercise, a total of 348 illegal premises were sealed and this comprised of: 84 Pharmacies and 264 Patent Medicine Shops; while 22 compliance directives were issued to others for minor offences.The premises that were sealed were found not to be in compliance with  the various regulatory provisions of the PCN mandate.

In the month of July, 2021, the PCN paid an advocacy visit to the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Gombe State, on the pilot implementation of IntegratE project. The goal is to sensitize the leadership of the Ministry of Health on the project. PCN also used the opportunity of being in Gombe State to interact with the Patent and Proprietary Medicines Vendors on the same project.

In the  ongoing effort  to achieve maturity level  3 in the Global Benchmarking Assessment by WHO, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), along with National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) held successful  virtual meetings with the Global Benchmarking Team (GBT) of the WHO between 5th and 9th of July,  2021. The sessions were targeted at Mock Assessment of the level of compliance of National  Regulatory Agencies (NRA) (PCN and NAFDAC) to the earlier identified gap during  the last  physical visit  and subsequent virtual interactions.  Successful attainment of maturity level 3 will enable Nigeria to be recognized by WHO for the  production of  vaccine, among other benefits.

Finally, I wish to appreciate all Pharmacists for their diligence and hard work towards ensuring the provision of quality pharmaceutical services for sustainable healthcare delivery in the country.  Please, do not relent, let us remain resolute.

Pharm. N. A. E. Mohammed, Ph.D,   FPSN,   FNIM,    FPCPharm,   FNAPharm

Registrar