The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, says pharmacists are integral members of Nigeria’s healthcare system and have an expanding role in improving health outcomes.

Mr Pate, who was represented by Teshoma Dafeta, Director, Human Resource Management of the ministry, said this on Friday in Abuja at an event to commemorate the 2026 World Pharmacists Day.

The commemoration is themed “Empowering Pharmacies for Healthier Futures”.

Mr Pate also said pharmacists remained among the most accessible and trusted health professionals.

He said their roles had expanded beyond medicine procurement, supply and dispensing to include clinical care, scientific innovation and public health delivery.

“Empowering our pharmacists is not merely an option. It is essential to building a resilient, sustainable, and future-ready health system for our country,” he said.

Mr Pate said pharmacists contributed to preventive and primary healthcare through community health screening, immunisation, health promotion and wellness education.

He said they also supported the management of chronic and non-communicable diseases, including hypertension and diabetes, as well as patient safety and rational use of medicines.

“These expanding responsibilities demonstrate the importance of pharmacists as integral members of the healthcare system,” he said.

The minister said the government was advancing reforms to strengthen pharmacy practice, including expanding pharmacists’ contribution to primary healthcare, immunisation and specialised pharmaceutical care.

He said the reforms also covered e-pharmacy and digital health infrastructure, local pharmaceutical manufacturing and stronger regulatory frameworks to improve medicine supply security.

Mr Pate said the government would continue to invest in pharmacy education, clinical training, residency programmes and continuing professional development.

He added that it would promote supportive working environments, research, biotechnology and the integration of health technology into pharmaceutical practice.

The minister called for stronger multidisciplinary collaboration, saying pharmacists should work alongside physicians, nurses, and other health professionals to provide comprehensive, patient-centred care.

Mr Pate said the government was also strengthening regulatory frameworks and supporting the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

He said the measures aimed to prevent the circulation of substandard and falsified medical products and improve the security of medicine supply.

The Director, Food and Drug Services Department, Adeola Olufowobi-Yusuf, said pharmacies were frontline healthcare facilities whose expertise was central to prevention, patient safety and public health.

She said empowering pharmacies required equipping them with the recognition, competencies and supportive environment needed to respond to emerging healthcare challenges.

Ms Olufowobi-Yusuf said the government was addressing unsafe medication practices, antimicrobial resistance and counterfeit medicines, while embracing tele-pharmacy and digital health solutions.

She said the ministry worked with regulatory agencies to control narcotics and prevent illicit diversion, while using quality assurance measures to check medicines along the supply chain.

Chizoba Maduagwuna, director of the Greater Federal Capital Territory Office, NAFDAC, said pharmacists were indispensable members of the healthcare team.

She said NAFDAC was strengthening collaboration with pharmacists and other stakeholders to promote regulatory compliance, pharmacovigilance and the fight against substandard and falsified medicines.

Ms Maduagwuna said NAFDAC worked with the Nigeria Customs Service because some falsified medicines entered the country through porous borders.

“We also cannot sniff out whatever is happening unless we have information. So we depend a lot on intel, intelligence from Nigerians who give us this information,” she said.

She said NAFDAC also used a track-and-trace system to monitor pharmaceutical products from manufacturers until they reached their point of use.

Yusuf Alhassan, director, North Central Zone, National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), said access to healthcare was incomplete without access to safe, affordable and efficacious medicines.

He said pharmacists were critical to the success of health insurance because proper dispensing and counselling helped protect patients and the system’s financial integrity.

Mr Alhassan said NHIA was working to optimise its medicines formulary, streamline reimbursement processes and integrate pharmaceutical care into its quality assurance framework.

Muhammad Balarabe, Head, Ecosystem Enablement, Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), said pharmacies were integral to industrialising Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector.

“Without pharmacies, there is no pharmaceutical industry,” Mr Balarabe said.

He said PVAC would continue collaborating with pharmacies and other stakeholders to support the industrialisation of the healthcare sector.

World Pharmacists Day is commemorated annually on September 25 to recognise pharmacists’ contribution to healthcare delivery.

(NAN)