Young Nigerian pharmacists and health researchers have called for increased investment in medicine safety and pharmacovigilance, arguing that protecting patients requires more than efforts to keep counterfeit medicines off the market.

They said Nigeria needs stronger systems covering pharmaceutical research, manufacturing, regulation, distribution and post-market monitoring to ensure medicines remain safe and effective throughout their lifecycle.

Pharmacist Ogunmola Muizat of Zabi Repro Health Initiative said medicine safety should be viewed as a broader public health responsibility rather than simply a fight against counterfeit products.

“Medicine safety is not only about identifying counterfeit products. It is about building a system where medicines are properly developed, manufactured, regulated, distributed, monitored, and used,” she said.

The pharmacists noted that even genuine medicines can cause harm when they are poorly stored, incorrectly prescribed or improperly used. Adverse reactions may also go undetected when systems for reporting and analysing patients’ experiences are weak.

This is where pharmacovigilance becomes critical. The practice involves detecting, assessing, understanding and preventing adverse effects and other medicine-related problems after products reach patients.

Pharmacist Oyinloye Gbenga of LagosMiND said patients should remain part of the medicine safety process after treatment begins.

“Patients should not be protected only before a medicine enters the market. We also need systems that listen to what happens after patients begin using these medicines. Pharmacovigilance helps us identify safety signals that may otherwise go unnoticed,” he said.

Pharmacist Melody Okereke of the International AIDS Society, whose work is affiliated with HIV/AIDS implementation science research, said medicine safety must account for the conditions under which medicines are actually used.

“Patients use medicines within real communities, not laboratories. They may experience barriers involving access, adherence, affordability, health literacy, stigma, or interactions with other medicines. We need stronger systems for understanding what happens to patients after medicines reach them,” he said.

The pharmacists also identified pharmacists as an important link in Nigeria’s medicine safety system.

Because they interact directly with medicines and patients, they are well positioned to identify adverse drug reactions, medication errors and other potential safety concerns.

“Pharmacists are close to both the medicine and the patient. We should use that position more effectively to generate safety information, educate patients, support reporting, and contribute to research that improves how medicines are developed and used,” said Pharmacist Rhoda Olatuyi of the Drug Discovery Innovation Hub.

The group called for pharmacovigilance to be integrated into the wider medicine development and delivery chain, rather than treated as an activity that begins only after a product reaches the market.

Pharmacist Ajumobi Abdulbasit of the Drug Discovery Innovation Hub said decisions made at different stages of the pharmaceutical process could ultimately affect patient safety.

“Medicine safety is a continuum. The decisions made in the laboratory, manufacturing facility, regulatory agency, pharmacy, and clinic can all influence what eventually happens to a patient. We need stronger connections across these stages if we want a truly resilient medicine-safety system,” Abdulbasit said.

The pharmacists also stressed the need to maintain strong quality standards as Nigeria seeks to expand local pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Pharmacist Aransiola Mercy of Trumax Pharmaceuticals said increased domestic production must be accompanied by robust quality assurance.

“Local pharmaceutical manufacturing should not be measured only by how many products we can produce. Quality has to remain central. We need strong manufacturing practices, reliable quality-control systems, proper storage, and continuous monitoring to ensure that patients receive medicines that meet the required standards,” she said.

Beyond manufacturing, the pharmacists called for greater investment in pharmaceutical research, professional training, digital reporting systems and regulatory capacity.

They also urged stronger collaboration between healthcare professionals, manufacturers, regulators, policymakers and patients to improve the collection and use of medicine safety information.

For the young pharmacists, the challenge extends beyond preventing counterfeit medicines from reaching consumers. They believe Nigeria must build a system capable of monitoring medicines throughout their journey and learning from patients’ experiences once treatment begins.

Such an approach, they argued, would make medicine safety a continuous public health responsibility, helping to identify problems earlier and improve the quality and effectiveness of medicines available to Nigerians.