Council registers 300 patent medicine vendors

The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has registered 300 patent medicine vendors to provide simple medicine in seven liberated communities in Borno.

The Officer of the council, Mr Giwa Emmanuel, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Maiduguri.

Emmanuel said that the vendors were meant to provide simple medication to people in the areas that lack healthcare providers.

He said that no fewer than 1,000 patent medicine vendors were registered in the state in three years, adding that the licence was renewable every year.

“One of the important aims of licencing non-pharmacists to handle simple medical remedies was the easier attainment of the national drug policy.

“Adequate provision, accessibility and availability of essential drugs which would be effective, affordable, safe and good quality were one of the cardinal policies of the PCN.

“These vendors would provide services in council areas like Konduga, Dikwa, Mafa, Benisheik, MMC, Jere and Biu of the state.

“We are also educating patent medicine vendors on the laws and ethics governing the vending of patent medicine in Nigeria.

“These include regulating and controlling the sale of patent medicine in line with the existing legal provision,” he said.

“The NDLEA have made several arrests of vendors who engaged in illicit drug sale. Drugs recovered from them include cough syrup, benelin with codein, diazapham, rophenol and tramodol.

“While we monitor and ensure regulation and control of all pharmacists in the country, we are also colaborating with NDLEA, NAFDAC, police and DSS to nip all nefarious activities in the bud,” the official said.