The Director/Head Pharmaceutical Service Division, Food And Drugs Service Department, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Mrs Talatu Yahaya has urged Nigerians to only purchase medicines from pharmacies with the Rx symbol.
Yahaya stated this on Tuesday, while fielding questions from journalists at a health walk to mark the 2O25 World Pharmacists Day in Abuja.
She explained that every year, the 25th of September, was set aside globally to celebrate the World Pharmacists Day and the health walk was part of activities heralding the day.
“This health walk is to kind of activate your body system for healthy living. So we feel as health workers, we should mobilize and sensitize people to do exercise”, she said.
The Director hinted that there would be a medical outreach on Wednesday.
“Tomorrow, by the grace of God, we’ll be doing an outreach here in the sectariat. We’ll screen people for Malaria, which we all know is one of the public health diseases and we’ll also screen people for Hypertension and Diabetes. These are non-communicable diseases, but they are becoming a public health issue.
“You find people dropping and dying. So we want to sensitize people, let people take responsibility of their health. We also want to sensitize people and advise them to go out there and make sure they access health care services”, she said.
Yahaya however noted that the most important part of the celebration was to sensitize the public on where to access quality and safe medicines:
“But more importantly, is to sensitize the public to access medicines, quality and safe medicines from the pharmacies. You find that when people are sick, the first point of call is the community. It’s either a private medicine store or a pharmacy shop and these days you see people even accessing medicine from unethical professionals, quacks.
“So one of the things we are doing in these three days, we’re going to sensitize the public to make sure they access medicine from the right source.
“Nigerians should please access medicine from pharmacies with the Rx symbol, in fact nigerians should insist when they enter any pharmacy shop that they want to see a pharmacist”, she stated.
Similarly, the Deputy Director Pharmaceutical Service Division, Food And Drugs Service Department, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare,
Pharmacist Mrs Hasiya Daura, informed that the essence of commemorating the day was to celebrate pharmacists, create awareness on who pharmacists are, their roles, and then ensuring that people access their medicines through registered pharmacies, community pharmacies and then at the hospitals.
Speaking on the right channel for treatment, Daura said, “whenever they’re sick, they should go to the hospital, meet a physician and then access quality, effective medicines from a registered pharmacy”.
