The Federal Government, alongside other stakeholders in the health sector have inaugurated the National Electronic Pharmacy Policy (NEPP) and Strategic Implementation Plan to further transform the health sector.
Speaking during the event, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, said the policy would regulate production and sales of pharmaceuticals and allow Nigerians access to quality-assured medicines.
Represented by Olubumi Aribeana, the Director of Food and Drug Services at the ministry, Pate said it was geared towards modernising the healthcare delivery and allowing Nigerians access to affordable medicine, no matter where they live.
According to the minister, though the rise of digital platforms has transformed nearly every sector of the nation’s economy, the pharmaceutical space has remained largely fragmented with limited oversight of online medicine sales.
He said that the free-hand access in the pharmaceutical sector had created dangerous gaps, where substandard and falsified medicines, unlicensed vendors, and misinformation thrived.
“Today marks a bold step forward in our collective mission to modernise healthcare delivery and ensure that every Nigerian has access to safe, affordable, and quality-assured medicines no matter where they live.
“The NEPP is our strategic response. It provides a clear, enforceable framework for the regulation of electronic pharmacy services in Nigeria. It ensures that innovation does not come at the expense of safety.
“With this policy, we are setting the foundation for a nationally coordinated e-pharmacy ecosystem that is transparent, secure, and patient-centred.
“It establishes licensing and accreditation standards for digital pharmacy platforms, enables real-time monitoring and traceability of pharmaceutical products, and improves access to essential medicines especially in underserved and remote communities,” he said.
Pate said that the platform would promote greater accountability for all actors in the pharmaceutical value chain, adding that the policy is a product of extensive collaboration.
The Registrar/CEO of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), Ibrahim-Babashehu Ahmed, said the policy would provide strategic direction for regulation, especially for the PCN being the implementing agency.
“We have developed the regulation to guide this particular endeavour. The regulation was approved by the Coordinating Minister of Health and endorsed by the Minister of Justice,” he said.
According to him, PCN is confidence that there will not be any challenge in the implementation of the policy.
Munir Elelu, the director and team lead for the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria Foundation, lauded the project, describing it as good innovation for Nigeria.
He said that the project would be cut across for primary healthcare centre services and family planning services at communities and underserved entities in the country.
David Adeyemi, CEO/Founder of Pharmachain Technologies, who was part of the team that drafted the policy, commended the effort of the team in producing the policy.
He identified lack of implementation as a major setback to most policies in Nigeria but assured that the NEPP would not be different.
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