The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), on Friday disclosed sealing 724 pharmacies and medicine stores in Kwara State over faulty regulatory compliance.

The registrar of the council, Ibrahim Ahmed, stated this in Ilorin, while briefing newsmen on the outcome of a four-day enforcement exercise by its personnel.

The enforcement exercise spread across 10 local governments that included Ilorin South, Ilorin East, Ilorin West, Asa, Offa, Ifelodun, Oyun, Moro, Irepodun, and Edu.

Represented by Dr. Suleiman Chiroma, the registrar said: “Over the four-day operation, the team inspected a total of 1,238 premises, comprising 167 pharmacies, 957 patent medicine stores, and 114 illegal outlets.

“Consequently, 724 premises were sealed, including 68 pharmacies, 542 patent medicine stores, and 114 illegal outlets. In addition, 11 compliance directives were issued.

“Of the total of 1,238 premises inspected during the exercise, 9% were found to be operating illegally.”

He added that,”Illegal premises accounted for 15.7% of all facilities sealed due to one or more regulatory breaches.

“Among licensed operators, 59.2 per cent of pharmacies inspected were in full compliance with regulatory standards, compared with 43 per cent of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendor outlets. As required by law, 100 per cent of the illegal premises identified were sealed.

“The breaches uncovered include operation without a valid PCN licence, poor storage conditions, and unauthorized access to controlled medicines, training of apprentices, and cooking in patent medicine shops.

“These practices endanger public health and pose risks to national security when controlled drugs are diverted to criminal networks,” he added.

He noted that the outcome of the enforcement exercise was a relatively low rate, which reflected improved regulatory outcomes in the state.

He warned that “any breach of established regulations will be met with decisive enforcement action by the Council.”

The PCN registrar urged members of the public to always obtain their medicines from premises duly licensed by the council to avert treatment failures, antimicrobial resistance, and possible deaths.

He said that a duly licensed PCN could be verified through the valid PCN license prominently displayed within the facility, adding that the Council is committed to advancing Universal Health Coverage(UHC) in line with the federal government’s health agenda. ”

He added that “UHC is unattainable without access to safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable medicines.”, warning that ,”when medicines are dispensed by untrained persons or stored in unsuitable conditions, treatment failures, antimicrobial resistance, and avoidable deaths increase.”