This presentation is made to mark the 2025 World Pharmacists Day on Thursday, September 25, with the theme: Think Health, think Pharmacist.
This global day, championed by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), is a crucial opportunity to recognise the invaluable contributions of pharmacists to our healthcare system, well-being of our communities, and to underscore the importance of our specialised role as Consultant Pharmacists.
The theme serves as a powerful reminder of our essential position in ensuring the continuity and future of healthcare in Nigeria.
Permit me to seize this opportunity to immensely thank the Nigerian government for approving the Pharmacists Consultant Cadre, and for insisting that its health institutions create vacancies and appoint qualified fellows of the West African Post Graduate College of Pharmacists into consultant positions in these institutions, despite calls for government to halt the implementation of the cadre.
The message of this year’s celebration is particularly apt, as we navigate complex health challenges and strive to build robust, resilient, and sustainable health systems for the Nigerian people and humanity at large.
The year’s celebration emphasises themes like patient safety, quality use of medicines, health promotion, and accessible care, which are key roles of consultant pharmacists.
Additionally, the theme highlights the unique and advanced roles of consultant pharmacists in the Nigerian health space.
As consultant pharmacists, we are at the forefront of this effort. Our practice extends beyond traditional pharmaceutical care. We are innovators in medication management, educators of patients and other healthcare professionals, and vital contributors to health policy and systems strengthening.
Call to action
No doubt, the journey ahead requires continuous collaboration and a stronger integration of pharmacists into the national health agenda.
We call upon policymakers, healthcare stakeholders, and the public to understand and leverage the full potential of the pharmacist as a key member of the health team.
The Consultant Pharmacists Association of Nigeria hereby calls for greater collaboration and stronger integration of pharmacists into the broader health strategy.
Much as we appreciate the efforts of government, we strongly believe government can do more by providing a level playing field for all professionals in the healthcare sector, while minimising discrimination against non-physicians. Government needs to invest in postgraduate training of pharmacists, as investing in pharmacists means investing in a safer, healthier, and more equitable future for the Nigerian people.
In particular, we call on chief medical directors/ medical directors of teaching hospitals and federal medical centres respectively, to as a matter of urgency, create vacancies in their institutions and appoint pharmacist consultants from the pool of fellows of the Post Graduate College awaiting appointment.
The association strongly condemns the deliberate efforts by hospital management to step consultants down by one or two grade levels, even when these pharmacists are eminently qualified for higher-level appointments.
The association, therefore, calls on government ministries, agencies and parastatals not to deprive the good people of Nigeria of the benefits of services offered by consultant pharmacists, by immediately employing such, forthwith.
In the same vein, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are encouraged to create vacancies for consultant pharmacists in their establishments, because the Consultant Pharmacists Association disagrees and
condemns in its entirety, the recent job relativity exercise that gave physicians a fifty per cent jump over and above pharmacists. That singular act negates best practices, and there is no justification for it.
As a lasting solution to incessant strikes and disharmony in the health care sector, consultant charmacists hereby call on government to abrogate the diverse salary structures in the health sector and operate a single spine salary structure, where all health care professionals will be on the same salary structure, but will enter at different levels, based on qualification and expertise.
The association calls on all Nigerians, including the media, to extend a hand of fellowship to consultant pharmacists, who have come to add value to healthcare delivery by optimising patient outcomes via the instrumentality of medication therapy management, health education, and access to quality and safe medicines, amongst other roles.
We urge medical consultants and other physicians in Nigeria to embrace change and collaborative practice, as healthcare delivery is teamwork. Together, we can provide optimal service delivery and stem the tide of brain drain in the country.
We urge consultant pharmacists to remain focused on our calling and be ready to walk the talk. Let this day be a renewed call to action. Let us continue to innovate, to advocate, and to serve with excellence. Thank you for your tireless dedication and commitment to the Nigerian people over the years.
The good people of Nigeria certainly deserve the best in health care, and that is what consultant pharmacists are promising Nigerians, on this occasion of the 2025 World Pharmacists Day, through collaborative health practice.
Amibor is the Interim Chairman, Consultant Pharmacists Association of Nigeria
