EXCLUSIVE: CEOs Of Government Hospitals Divert Drug Funds Into Private Bank Accounts
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has urged the President Bola Tinubu-led government to probe alleged corrupt cases made against some of the Chief Executive Officers of the Federal Health Institutions.
The PSN’s 96th annual national conference statement headlined “Jewel City 2023,” also voiced concerns over the country’s two million unlicenced narcotics sellers.
The communique, signed by Prof. Cyril Usifoh, President of the PSN, and Mr Garfa Madehin, National Secretary of the PSN, stated that the meeting was conducted between October 30 and November 4 at the Gombe International Meeting Centre, Bauchi Road, Gombe State, Nigeria.
The communique reads: “The conference called for the probe of corruption against some of the CEOs of the FHIs, whom empirical data confirms, indulge in the procurement of drugs through their proxies in addition to diverting Drug Revolving Funds accruable to identifiable bank accounts that are not official accounts in their institutions.”
“The conference called for a special retreat to resuscitate GRF by bringing together the HODs of Pharmacy and the CEOs of all the FHIs with a caveat to mandate the PSN National Executive Council to sponsor the same if the Federal Ministry of Health is interested in such collaboration,” the communique added.
The PSN also cautioned that if the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria is not adequately funded, the death rate in the health system will exceed the all-time high of 10.8 percent recorded in 1998.
It read, “The conference highlighted the unfavourable status quo of over two million unregistered drug sellers, 35 open markets, fake drug syndrome with a high incidence rate of 16 per cent to 48 per cent based on various national and international studies in the last 25 years, the unacceptably high rate of drug abuse involving the use of narcotics and controlled drugs even when the government embarks on what has always been described as insufficient funding of agencies involved with drug distribution in Nigeria.”
The PSN called for proactiveness in dealing with emerging diseases and also appealed to the Federal Government to fund research-based pharmacists in pharmaceutical institutions.
“The conference called for proactiveness in dealing with emerging diseases, including Lassa fever, Ebola, coronavirus, Monkeypox, Buruli ulcer, diphtheria, and other related diseases.
“The conference encouraged government at all levels to make funds available to research-based pharmacists in research institutes, drug research and production units, centre for drug discovery and the pharmacy schools to identify, research, and produce drugs of choice for use in our peculiar environment. This is the only way to actualise the concept of universal health coverage with pharmacists as the pivotal point persons,” it added.
