Pharmacists urged to fight against theft of medicines

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Pharmacists urged to fight against theft of medicines

7:15 CAT | 02 Nov 2018

Photo: O País

Mozambican Health Minister Nazira Abdula declared on Friday that the country’s pharmacists have the difficult task of fighting against the theft and illicit sale of medicines, and against smuggled and counterfeit drugs, in order to guarantee the safe availability of high quality and effective pharmaceuticals.

Speaking in Maputo, at the First Congress of Mozambican Pharmacists, she added that the 580 pharmacists practising in the country should guarantee the rational use of medicines, in order to combat resistance to antibiotics.

Professional pharmacists, said Abdula, should also guarantee their participation in research and in education so as to produce therapeutic solutions which can contribute to improved health for Mozambicans.

“The specialisation of pharmaceutical professionals in various areas of activity and the establishment of an ‘Order of Pharmacists’ in Mozambique constitutes a challenge”, she added. “This is an opportunity to gather experience from other countries attending this Congress who already possess an Order”.

“Working with the professional pharmacists, the government hopes to contribute to the defence of public health”, said the Minister. She hoped that pharmacists would operate “with a high degree of zeal and professionalism, carrying out the actions envisaged in national health plans and policies, particularly the Strategic Plan for Pharmaceutical Logistics”.

The first Mozambican pharmaceutical course was set up in 1997: prior to that, Mozambicans wishing to specialise in the pharmaceutical area had to study abroad

The chairperson of the Association of Mozambican Pharmacists (AFARMO), Nkunda Pierre, told the gathering that medicines should be regarded as a major therapeutic instrument, and not as mere merchandise, and should therefore be used in a rational manner.

The Congress praised former Health Minister Ivo Garrido who had been the driving force behind setting up the pharmaceutical course in 1997.

Garrrido replied that it would also be fair to mention the Portuguese Order of Pharmacists, with which he had worked to design the course. “We noted there was a shortage of pharmacists with higher level qualifications, and so we drew up the degree course in Pharmaceutical Sciences”, he said. “You are the pioneer generation from this course in Mozambique”.

He said that pharmacists have the responsibility of caring for the lives of around 29 million Mozambicans in one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. “The situation is tough, but it’s better than it was in 1975 (the year of Mozambican independence)”, he said. “We have to bank on good quality training in a country where there is only one university that runs a pharmaceutical course. Pharmacists must organise themselves to guarantee that medicines reach the public with a minimum of quality”.

Pharmacists, Garrido continued, should guarantee that the regulatory authority for medicines is a strong body that does not allow counterfeit drugs to circulate in Mozambique, and guarantees that citizens have access to essential medicines at low prices.

Like Abdula, he was concerned at the theft of medicines from the national health service, and argued that pharmacists have the duty to discuss ways of putting a stop to the thefts.

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Source: AIM