… Petitions Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PSN, fiercely opposed the establishment of a National Health Facility Regulatory Agency (NHFRA), describing it as a potential threat to the independence of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN).
In Its letter to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Justice, and signed by the society’s President, Prof Cyril Osifoh, PSN argued that the proposed NHFRA is redundant.
In the strongly worded letter entitled: “Request for Appropriate Legal Redress of the Proposed National Health Facility Regulatory Agency (NHFRA)” to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Lateef Fagbemi SAN, PSN outlined their concerns.
They cited the Established Regulatory Structure, emphasising that the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria, PCN, established by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 2022, already effectively regulates all aspects of pharmacy education, training, and practice.
They highlight the PCN’s successful track record in ensuring drug safety, preventing medication errors, and promoting the rational use of medicines.
On concerns about medical domination, the PSN raised concerns about the potential for the NHFRA to be dominated by the medical profession.
They point out the historical tension between healthcare professions and express fear that the NHFRA could be a ploy to place pharmacists under the control of medical doctors.
Citing international models, the PSN in the letter acknowledged the models of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in the UK and the Joint Commission in the US.
They argued that these models maintain separate regulatory bodies for pharmacy practice, citing examples like the General Pharmaceutical Council in the UK and the Pharmacy Regulatory Bodies in the US as examples of specialized pharmacy regulation.
Further, PSN proposed an alternative solution instead of the NHFRA.
The PSN proposed focusing on establishing a regulatory commission for tertiary health institutions at the federal level, as mandated by the National Health Act of 2014.
The PSN emphasised the importance of maintaining the PCN’s independence, stating that they believed it was crucial for upholding professional standards, ensuring public health protection, and maintaining regulatory efficiency.
Parts of the letter read: “This is the major area that needs a redress within the purview of existing laws. Funding remains a major challenge of healthcare endeavours in Nigeria.
“We salute the efforts of the Coordinating Minister of Health in securing the best budget for Health in many years, but the full activation of the Basic National Health Fund remains the major focus that will compel a change agenda in funding.
“It is our conviction that we must encourage the Federal Government to improve funding of the PCN and NAFDAC to elevate their statutory outputs and health outcomes in the public interest. The enabling Acts of Parliament that established the PCN and NAFDAC are specific laws which general laws of any type or nature cannot supersede.
“We also strongly urge the Federal Ministry of Health not to commit its limited funds to driving a needless NHFRA agendum because it is the least of our priorities in the Health Sector now.
On the justification for not merging, the letter states that: “We have looked at the legal background and development of Pharmacy regulatory laws in the Country beginning from the Lagos Pilotage and Harbour Ordinance 1878, the Hospital Ordinance of 1881 and the Ereko Dispensary Rules of 1889. These early legislations recognised the purpose of regulating dispensers, druggists and chemists.
The regulation of the practice of the profession in that regard was overseen by the Pharmacists Board as contained in the Pharmacy Ordinance of 1927, The Poisons and Pharmacy Act 152 of 1958 and the Pharmacists Act No. 26 of 1964. Despite changes in the contents of the legislation, the substances were the same.
“The Decree No. 91 of 1992 created the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria which was further improved upon by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria Act Cap P17 LFN 2004. The current extant legislation the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 2022 not only emboldened the previous legislations but substantially expanded the scope of practice and personnel involved in the practice and brought the law to be at par with the best international practice.
“The Federal Ministry of Health should leverage on the existing status quo that has ensured some relative peace in the Health Sector by jettisoning any move that will stir the hornets’ nest, as any agenda bordering on a centralized Health Regulatory Facility Agency will be grounded in immediate suspicion which will jeopardize our fragile peace and this will definitely be resisted by stakeholders. “The general perception of health workers on the NHFRA initiative is that Dr Alausa is working on an agelong script to put all health professions under the supervision of his medical constituency.
“Nothing buttresses the viewpoint that this is an agenda of suppression than the fact that membership of the Committee to superintend the proposed NHFRA is made up of physicians to the extent of 99% which in itself spells doom for the Health Sector because inputs accrue from only one profession in a multidisciplinary sector.
“The PSN remains committed to the ideals of growing the Health Sector. We however insist that the methodology to achieve this must be grounded in justice and fair to all concerned.”
