On Wednesday, during the Annual General Meetings of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Lagos Chapter, which was held in Lagos, the association implored the State Government to allocate sites for coordinated wholesale drug centers in the state.
Speaking for the whole of the Lagos chapter of the association, Lawrence Ekhator, the state chairman of the association in Lagos stated that putting a coordinated wholesale drug centre in place in the state will help to regulate as well as monitor drug flow in the state, which will in turn help curb drug abuse.
It can be recalled that New Veo made a news report about the creation of coordinated wholesale drug centers across the country and how implementation has already started in Kano state.
In a bid to implore the Lagos state government to do the same, Lawrence Ekhator said, “Drugs are regulated items that are legislated upon by the Federal government just like guns, and this should be of interest to every government when the issue of drug distribution and open markets are discussed.
“Using the case of Kano as an example of where they have a coordinated wholesale centre to streamline and sanitise drug distribution and also tackle the high rate of drug abuse among the youths.
“Lagos State also has the same issues on drug distribution and drug abuse. The different open drug markets available in the state can be moved to a permanent place to allow for proper monitoring, inflow and outflow of drugs.
“We are calling on the state government to allocate or push forward a site for the establishment of a coordinated wholesale centre to monitor the distribution of drugs as the first step to address the high rate of drug abuse”.
He also lamented on how the current economic situation of the country has affected the members of the association and called for the government to take the necessary steps to help rectify the current economic woes
“The cost of drugs has skyrocketed due to the present inflation in the country. Some Nigerians, especially the vulnerable, are already taking herbal drugs to care for their health..
“This has reduced the patronage of orthodox medicine and it has taken its toll on us. We urge the government to bring up policies that will rejig the economy and stabilise things,”