The Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, has called on National and State Houses of Assembly to introduce stiffer penalties for the production and supply of substandard drugs in order to reduce the tragic and harmful impacts of fake and counterfeit drugs in the country.
Governor Ahmed made the call in Ilorin on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the 86th Annual National Conference of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria.
The governor, who said it was unfortunate that substandard drugs were still sneaked into the health delivery system across the country thus putting the health of patient in jeopardy, added that his administration has established the fake and counterfeit drugs task force and a drug abuse control structure to check the menace of fake drugs and drug abuse.
He also charged members of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria to ensure that the new drug distribution guideline was implemented in all the states of the federation as part of strategies to check fake drug incidents in the country.
Governor Ahmed advocated a synergy between pharmaceutical and traditional medical practitioners in order to widen the horizon of medical care in the country as anecdotal evidence supported the efficacy of traditional medicine.
He, therefore, canvassed for rigorous research into herbs to determine their efficacy and safety so that the nation could benefit from the economic advantages of alternative medicine.
The first Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, Justice Mustapha Akanbi who was chairman of the occasion, said that it was remarkable that no pharmacist was brought before the commission when he was its chairman.
Akanbi charged the leadership of PSN to always ensure that members adhere to the ethics of their profession.
The President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Olumide Akintayo, in his presidential address, underscored the importance of pharmacist in the healthcare delivery system as very vital.
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