ACPN Seeks Speedy Approval of Pharmacy-first Initiative

Pharmacists under the aegis of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) have made a strong case for the adoption of thePharmacy First Initiative (PFI)by the federal government to transform the country’s health system.

In a statement signed by its National Chairman, Ambrose Ezeh, and National Secretary, Obiageri Ikwu, the ACPN described the module as a strategic pathway to expanding Universal Health Coverage (UHC), calling on the federal government to invest in it as it would transform community pharmacy services across the country into primary healthcare hub.

According to ACPN, Universal Health Coverage remains the appropriate tool to bring good health to citizens of our country because it guarantees quality, equitable and people-centred health services; saying, that is the reason the association “find it necessary to sensitise and mobilise the Federal Government to approve specific investment plans to leverage the Pharmacy First Initiative, one of the best mechanisms to catalyse Universal Health Coverage (UCH) in Nigeria.”

ACPN urged governments at all levels to buy into the community pharmacy structure as the best platform for maximum benefits of UCH.

“At the centre of strategising for UCH, governments at all levels must structure community pharmacies to provide Primary Health Care services through better access to essential drugs and management of uncomplicated diseases, which ultimately reduces the burden of services on secondary and tertiary health facilities.”

Community pharmacies, it said, were uniquely positioned to ease the burden on secondary and tertiary health facilities by providing essential drugs, managing uncomplicated diseases and offering basic screening services at the community level.”

It posited that, “consequent upon global reforms, healthcare will succeed based on the quality of governance, institutional resilience in the health sector, lesser vulnerability of the drug supply chain, direction of public policy, IT deployment, solidity of financial base and the strength of Public- Private Sector collaborations.’’

The association also stressed the importance of systematic documentation and data collection from such services to generate evidence for policy development, strengthen advocacy and improve healthcare planning.

It further said, “for progress, institutions and leaders in the health sector must successfully navigate the prevailing status quo, which is retrogressive, by embracing new thoughts and realms that illuminate the lives of the citizenry.”

To fully maximise the benefits of the Pharmacy First Initiative (PFI), ACPN advised community pharmacies to align with revelations of modern ideas by tapping into the advantage of their proximity to patients at all levels of care and in particular the community level.

“Community Pharmacists must continue to be a trusted and low-cost first contact workforce in the quest for the true growth and development of the Health Sector in Nigeria. The need for the Pharmacy First Initiative (PFI) must drive Community Pharmacists to step up provisions for basic screening for free in uncomplicated and non-communicable disease states like hypertension and diabetes. In addition to medication advice, Community Pharmacists must advance care provision by establishing pharmacy-based clinics for counselling and advocacy in malaria, ante-natal care, family planning, smoking cessation, the use of nutraceuticals that ensure wellness and other areas of professional competence,” ACPN said.

The association enjoined members to widen their horizon of pharmacy practice in the spirit of its resolve at the 2026 National Conference and World Pharmacists Day (WPD), adding that a realistic approach to future growth was to do away with critical gaps hindering patient-centred care namely: policy and political leadership, evidence and digital transformation, quality and improvement, and collaboration gaps.

ACPN tasked the federal and state governments to emulate some blowing reforms around the world which are impacting and producing fruitful results. It cited United Kingdom’s Pharmacy First model as a reference point which is expanding community pharmacy services, noting that the National Health Service had substantially expanded its walk-in pharmacy treatments in England under a £340 million investment deal announced in May 2026.

It said the UK experience evolved from the Pharmacy First Initiative, which it described as transforming community pharmacies into primary clinical care hubs.

The association also cited the COVID-19 pandemic as an example. According to the document, the UK government had provided £300 million to support community pharmacies when physicians’ clinics were closed, and that British pharmacists had sustained health services so effectively during that period that the government issued a special commendation to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.

The experience in Nigeria during the same period, it said, was stark contrast.

“In Nigeria, despite the reality that community pharmacies ignored major risk factors to provide accessible and affordable services during COVID-19, there was neither financial support nor acknowledgement of Community Pharmacists for sustaining services at accessible and affordable costs. The few hospitals that offered services in that dispensation charged tens of millions of naira deposits before offering services,” the statement said.

Against the unpleasant experience, ACPN called on the federal and state governments to expedite the establishing of the Presidential Committee on the pharmaceutical sector to examine the Pharmacy First model and other reforms capable of strengthening Nigeria’s health system.