The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has urged the Federal Government to introduce a nationwide ‘Pharmacy First’ protocol to allow group pharmacies to determine suspected Ebola instances early and strengthen illness surveillance on the grassroots.
The affiliation stated integrating group pharmacists into Nigeria’s nationwide illness surveillance system would enhance early detection of infectious ailments, facilitate well timed referrals and cut back strain on secondary and tertiary healthcare services.
In a place assertion signed by its National Chairman, Ezeh Ambrose, ACPN known as on federal and state governments to formally recognise group pharmacies as companions in epidemic preparedness and first healthcare supply.
It stated the proposed protocol might be deployed throughout the nation’s 774 native authorities areas, bringing early symptom recognition and referral companies nearer to communities, notably these with restricted entry to traditional healthcare services.
“We consider it necessary to sensitise and mobilise the federal government to approve specific investment plans to leverage the Pharmacy First Initiative as a front-line Ebola detection protocol, which stands as one of the best mechanisms to catalyse Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria,” the assertion learn.
Under the proposed initiative, group pharmacists would play a broader public well being function past shelling out medicines to incorporate recognising signs of infectious ailments, offering well being schooling, conducting applicable fundamental screening and referring suspected instances to designated well being services.
The affiliation stated structured referral pathways may assist be certain that people presenting with signs suggestive of Ebola obtain immediate medical evaluation and testing, whereas supporting contact-tracing efforts and lowering the chance of publicity in crowded hospital settings.
“At the centre of strategising for epidemic response and Universal Health Coverage, governments at all levels must structure community pharmacies to provide first-line Ebola screening and Primary Health Care services through better access to essential drugs and management of uncomplicated diseases, which ultimately reduces the burden of services on secondary and tertiary health facilities,” it said.
ACPN additionally known as on group pharmacists to enhance operational requirements, modernise their practices and improve their services to fulfill the calls for of expanded public well being obligations.
“In view of changing times, Community Pharmacists must respond accordingly to explore investment opportunities with free funds to achieve the goals of Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) in the realistic interest of patients,” the assertion added.
However, the affiliation recognized gaps in coverage management, digital integration, proof era, high quality enchancment and collaboration amongst healthcare professionals as challenges to efficient epidemic preparedness and response.
To deal with these gaps, it proposed a five-point reform framework targeted on creating a unified imaginative and prescient for epidemic preparedness, bettering scientific high quality and public belief, integrating digital know-how into routine pharmacy follow, strengthening collaboration with main healthcare centres and constructing partnerships with medical insurance suppliers.
It additionally known as for standardised reporting methods to allow group pharmacies to transmit related surveillance information to nationwide well being databases, offering public well being authorities with well timed info to watch illness patterns and detect potential outbreaks.
Citing worldwide experiences, the affiliation stated group pharmacy networks had helped maintain entry to important healthcare companies and assist frontline scientific actions throughout public well being emergencies. It referenced the United Kingdom for instance of a rustic the place group pharmacies have helped preserve entry to care throughout disruptions to traditional medical companies.
Pharm. Ezeh stated integrating group pharmacies into Nigeria’s main healthcare system would enhance entry to important companies and strengthen the nation’s capability to answer public well being emergencies.
He warned that delays in establishing efficient grassroots surveillance mechanisms may undermine outbreak response efforts and expose healthcare staff, sufferers and the broader inhabitants to avoidable dangers.
“We cannot afford to repeat past missteps where delayed grassroots surveillance allowed outbreaks to spiral out of control. If the Federal Government fails to integrate community pharmacies into this primary protocol, our major hospitals will inevitably become ground zero for cross-infection, overwhelmed before an outbreak is even fully mapped. Leaving community pharmacies out of the first line of defence is not just a missed opportunity; it is an unacceptable hazard to national health security,” he stated.
The ACPN chairman known as on President Bola Tinubu to difficulty an government directive to facilitate the speedy implementation of the proposed protocol, arguing that the present group pharmacy community may assist its speedy rollout.
“Every day of delay places an unnecessary burden on our tertiary hospitals and leaves millions of Nigerians without accessible early detection. Community pharmacies are already fully staffed, equipped, and embedded across all 774 Local Government Areas. We require zero infrastructure expenditure from the government to deploy this immediately. We urge President Bola Tinubu to issue the enabling policy directive today, and our national network will activate the ‘Pharmacy First’ screening protocol within 48 hours,” Ezeh declared.
The affiliation urged the Tinubu administration and the Federal Ministry of Health to determine a joint process power to develop and formalise the framework, together with scientific tips, referral procedures, illness surveillance protocols and coordination mechanisms for group pharmacists.
It maintained that with applicable authorities assist, skilled requirements and integration into the nationwide surveillance system, group pharmacies may function an necessary hyperlink between communities and Nigeria’s wider epidemic response community.
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