The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) is worried about new plans by the Federal Government to change rules for healthcare in Nigeria.
The ACPN thinks these new changes are not necessary and might even be harmful.
In a statement by their leaders, Ambrose Eze and Omokhafe Ashore, the ACPN said the National Health Act of 2014 can solve the problem if it is used properly.
The pharmacists agree with the Health Minister that bad healthcare facilities need to be fixed. But they believe this should be done using the laws we already have, like the National Health Act of 2014 and the Constitution of Nigeria.
The ACPN also said there are many laws like the National Health Act of 2014 that are not being used to help people get good healthcare.
The statement said, “One big problem is that there is very little money to support the existing healthcare regulatory agencies.”
Recently, a former Director General made things worse by trying to remove money for 15 important health councils from the government’s budget. It took the Federal Ministry of Health to step in and explain to the government how bad this could be before they changed their mind.
The pharmacists think it’s a bad idea to spend money on creating a new health regulatory body. They say it’s not smart to start something new when the government says it doesn’t have money for the current health councils.
The ACPN advised the government to be careful. They can’t say they have no money for what we have now and then plan to create something new that will need money too.