Pharmacists in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have renewed calls for greater recognition in Nigeria’s healthcare system, urging government to designate community pharmacies as Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) while pushing for wider integration of traditional medicine.
The call came in Abuja during the 2025 World Pharmacists Day celebration themed “Think Health, Think Pharmacists”, as declared by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) according to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Abubakar Danraka, Abuja zonal coordinator of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP), said pharmacists were leading efforts to standardise indigenous remedies.
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He noted that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare already had a Department of Traditional and Alternative Medicine, while the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) was working on developing safe and effective local treatments.
“Drug development begins with ethnopharmacology, our communities’ knowledge. NIPRD is ensuring that herbal medicines are standardised and made safe. What we need now is political will, institutional support, legal backing, and funding,” he said.
Mr Danraka also pointed to the Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) as a key institution, noting that it formulates herbal treatments for various conditions under the leadership of a pharmacy professor.
PSN-FCT chairman, Salamatu Orakwelu, emphasised the profession’s wider role beyond dispensing medicines.
“Pharmacists are not just dispensers; we conduct research and ensure medicines are accessible, affordable, effective, and used rationally,” she said.
She further highlighted challenges such as workforce shortages and financial constraints but stressed that pharmacists remained committed to patient care.
On his part, Olatunji Aloba, chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), FCT chapter, renewed the call for community pharmacies to be given a formal role in primary healthcare delivery.
“Pharmacies are often the first point of contact for patients. Globally, they already serve as PHCs. Nigeria should adopt this standard,” he said.
