By Gabriel Olawale

The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN, Lagos State Branch, has called on government at all levels to invest more in areas related to security and the welfare of the citizens, saying such investments will go a long way in addressing the brain drain experienced across different sectors of the economy.

Speaking during the 2023 Community Pharmacists Educational Conference, Chairman of the Association, Pharm. Lawrence Ekhator said that the brain drain has affected their profession to a large extent, as younger pharmacists are not interested in staying back due to a lack of adequate security and basic welfare.

“We are currently experiencing a shortage of younger pharmacists to employ. Those trained with the view of supporting our operations are living for greener pastures. It’s very difficult to blame them because all our appeals to the government are not yielding positive responses. This brain drain, by implication, will continue to worsen the country’s health indices.”

Lawrence insisted that if the government can meet its own constitutional role of proving security and basic welfare, a lot of Nigerians who are migrating will definitely stay back and contribute to the country’s development.

He commended Nigerians who are seriously contributing to the nation’s building despite all the challenges: “A lot of pharmacists are putting measures in place to thrive, but the more they do so, the more government introduces different policies to make things difficult. For instance, the drama surrounding the naira redesign and the implication of it on the economy are massive.”

Lawrence further admonished the members of ACPN to continue to leverage the benefits of e-commerce, and as a primary healthcare service provider, they should continue to transform the healthcare industry and protect the lives of the public.

The Registrar, Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, Pharm. Ibrahim Ahmed said that the pharmacy profession has experienced a massive loss of human resources in the last few years due to brain drain.

“A total of 1,255 letters of good standing were issued to pharmacists who traveled out of the country in 2021 and 2022 only. This figure does not include those who have traveled but have yet to apply for letters of good standing.”

The Guest Speaker at the 2-day conference, Chief Operating Officer, Pan-Atlantic University, Dr. Peter Bamkole urged ACPN members to encourage students from an early stage to develop an interest in studying pharmacy.

“I agree that the country is experiencing brain drain across different sectors, but I believe we can do our best by getting more people to take science related courses.

“As an association, we need to encourage more people to study science related courses, especially pharmacy, by enlightening them at the early stages of JSS 1 and JSS2.”

Peter, who was represented by the Director & Head of Gender at The Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University, Mrs. Nneka Okekearu, warned those that want to migrate for greener pastures to do their homework very well before doing so.

“Do not relocate with your family, don’t resign from your job, take leave of absence and find a way to get an internship in a company abroad, work there for two to three months and see their way of life.

“There are certain things you are enjoying here that are not available aboard. After weighing the two options, you can now decide.”

She encourages the Nigerian government to look at the current school curriculum and make it reflect the new trends and realities of today’s world.

“Our curriculum needs to be modified to reflect the current trend; we need to have things like leadership, personal management, financial literacy, and value creation so that by the time a pharmacist is graduating, he or she is not just coming out as a pharmacist, but they are coming out with a more holistic view of the world.”