PSN stresses need for pharmacopeia in Nigeria

The President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Alhaji Ibrahim Yakassai, on Wednesday, stressed the need for Nigeria to have a pharmacopiea, saying it is long overdue.
Yakassai made this disclosure on Wednesday at an interactive session with newsmen in Ilorin during a week-long programme of activities organised by the association.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that phamacopeia is an official publication by a government authority or pharmaceutical company or society that contains a list of medicinal drugs with their effects and directions for use.
According to the PSN president, Ghana, which has a population less than that of Nigeria, already has their phamacopeia.
He wondered why Nigeria with all its abundant human and raw material resources, could not boast of its own phamacopeia.
Yakassai expressed optimism that with a strong will from government and relevant stakeholders, the country should be able to produce 70 per cent of its drug consumables and 30 per cent for importation.
The pharmacist urged the government and other relevant stakeholders to focus on petro-chemical industries, where active ingredients for pharmaceutical consumables could be derived.
He expressed the belief that if the country could invest in pharmaceuticals, Nigeria could become a hub for drug export.
He said: “We must be prepared in the next 10 years, and must be careful as custodians of drugs that Nigeria becomes successful in its quest to solve its health needs.”
Yakassai noted that PSN had always been at the forefront of touching lives in the country, adding that the society had donated drugs worth N50 million to the Internally Displaced Persons in the Northeast.