World Pharmacy Day: Prof Baale Urges Africa To Harness Pharmacists’ Role In Strengthening Healthcare

As the satellite marks World Pharmacy Day today, Prof. Lere Baale, President of the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy and CEO of Business School Netherlands International, has called for pharmacists to beryllium repositioned arsenic frontline providers and argumentation influencers successful the continent’s quest for stronger and much resilient healthcare systems.

The yearly celebration, established by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), highlights pharmacists’ captious contributions to planetary health. This year’s commemoration for Africa brings renewed calls to recognise the assemblage arsenic a transformative unit successful tackling the continent’s wellness challenges.
Prof. Baale said pharmacists stay the astir accessible wellness professionals for millions of Africans, peculiarly successful agrarian and underserved communities wherever hospitals and doctors are scarce. From dispensing life-saving antimalarials to counselling connected hypertension and promoting vaccine uptake, assemblage pharmacies often service arsenic the archetypal and sometimes lone constituent of care.

“The continent is astatine a crossroads. We grapple with a treble load of disease—infectious diseases similar malaria, TB, and HIV, alongside rising epidemics of diabetes, cancers, and cardiovascular conditions. These see fragmented proviso chains, counterfeit medicines, inadequate financing, and a workforce stretched to its limits,” helium said.

He stressed that the continent indispensable leverage opportunities provided by the African Medicines Agency (AMA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to physique beardown section pharmaceutical industries, warrant equitable entree to harmless and affordable medicines, and presumption pharmacists arsenic consultants, innovators, and leaders successful wellness policy.

On the mode forward, Prof. Baale urged stakeholders to instrumentality deliberate action: governments should integrate pharmacists into superior healthcare financing, nonrecreational bodies indispensable fortify advocacy and training, academia should modernise curricula to see integer wellness and leadership, portion manufacture players are encouraged to spouse with pharmacists to safeguard medicine entree and proviso chains.
He further noted that transforming Africa’s wellness assemblage requires collaboration crossed governments, academia, civilian society, and the backstage sector. “If you privation to spell fast, spell alone; if you privation to spell far, spell together. Africa indispensable spell far—and pharmacy indispensable locomotion with each stakeholder to marque it happen,” helium said.
World Pharmacy Day, observed each September 25, reinforces the corporate powerfulness of wellness professionals successful shaping the aboriginal of healthcare. Advocates importune that by investing successful pharmacists, Africa volition put successful medicine and life.

“World Pharmacy Day reminds america that the aboriginal of wellness successful Africa volition beryllium determined by doctors, nurses, oregon policymakers and by the corporate powerfulness of each wellness professionals—with pharmacists astatine the bosom of that transformation.

“Let us, therefore, clasp pharmacy arsenic a cornerstone of Africa’s wellness systems. Let america equip, empower, and elevate pharmacists to service arsenic medicine custodians, information champions, innovation advocates, and translation leaders.

“When Africa thinks of health, it indispensable besides deliberation of pharmacy. And erstwhile Africa invests successful pharmacy, Africa invests successful beingness itself,” helium added.