To ensure unhindered access to medication, the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria and Moniepoint Inc., a financial institution, are partnering to empower pharmacists with innovative payment solutions and capital.

Ambrose Igwekwama, ACPN national chairman, spoke at the event held in Lagos and highlighted the critical role community pharmacies have played in Nigeria’s healthcare system over the years.

Mr Igwekwama noted that challenges, including poor infrastructural systems, power, transportation, regulatory bottlenecks, importation dependency, and limited research opportunities, have affected the pharmaceutical industry.

He emphasised the need to strengthen collaborative efforts with institutions like Moniepoint to improve health outcomes across the country.

“We are also seeing advancements in digital health and technology, which will hopefully deepen the practice of e-prescription in Nigeria. With an average of 480,000 daily footfalls across over 6,000 community pharmacies in Nigeria, the ACPN plays a vital role in Nigeria’s healthcare as front-line workers who promote public health beyond dispensing medications,” he stated.

Benjamin Olowojebutu, the first national vice-president of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), harped on the imperative of catering to the health needs of those living in rural and underserved areas across the country.

“Nigeria’s population is more rural than urban, so how do we reduce the rural-urban migration and intra-urban migration, which has also become pervasive, and how do we reduce uneven development across the country?

“I must commend the leadership of ACPN for collaborating with a forward-thinking, thought-leading organisation like Moniepoint to produce this insightful report. I am confident that this work would help us as Nigerians to see how we can channel research to affect funding for healthcare,” he said.

Didi Uwemakpan, vice-president of corporate affairs of Moniepoint Inc., presented the case study and said community pharmacies provide very insightful commentary on critical aspects of running a pharmacy.

Ms Uwemakpan said the study reveals a shift towards digital payments while exploring challenges around limited access to capital for stocking inventory and expansion sourcing quality drugs, particularly given the high proportion of imported pharmaceuticals and the prevalence of counterfeit medications.

According to him, some of the major findings from the case study show that 82 per cent of pharmacies offer additional health services beyond dispensing drugs, while only 7.69 per cent of customers prefer to pay pharmacies exclusively with cash.

(NAN)