A cardiac consultant with the Department of Medicine at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) Zaria, Muhammad M. Yakubu, has noted that poor policies have made it difficult for most Nigerians to access medicine.
According to him, “Access to essential medicine is a right in every nation for all its citizens at all levels.”
Yakubu made the observation while delivering a lecture at the Annual General Meeting and Training Workshop of the Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria (IMAN) held at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika, Zaria.
The cardiologist noted with concern the government’s failure to intervene in the pharmaceutical industry, saying that there are remarkable consequences in healthcare delivery, including access to medicine.
Pharm. B.P. Idris, Deputy Director of the Department of Pharmaceutical Services at ABUTH, in her presentation, said that the lack of pricing and price regulations is affecting access to the right medicine.
She explained that a functional system is needed to ensure the quality, safety, and efficiency of products, as well as to manage the problems of substandard and counterfeit medicines in the community.
The chairman of the occasion, Alh. Abdulraheem Sallau, Director of Administration at ABUTH, hailed the efforts of the IMAN executive members for sustaining the association’s visions and urged members to maintain their commitment and support toward actualizing the dreams of the association.
Poor policies hinder Nigerians’ access to medicine – Cardiologist