By Joy Odor, Abuja
Nigeria joined the global community on September 25, 2025, to mark World Pharmacists Day, with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate CON, declaring that pharmacists are “strategic partners in nation-building and the bedrock of a healthier, resilient society.”
Speaking through Mrs. Ladidi Bako-Ayegbusi, mni, Director/Head of the Health Nutrition Department, during a ministerial press briefing in Abuja, Pate stressed that pharmacists are no longer to be viewed as “mere dispensers of drugs” but as frontline professionals shaping Nigeria’s health system.
“Across Nigeria, pharmacists have become trusted first responders — from cities to the remotest villages — delivering healthcare guidance, life-saving medication, and preventive services,” Pate said.
The Minister highlighted major reforms reshaping Nigeria’s pharmaceutical landscape, including the National Drug Policy, E-Pharmacy Policy, and the recently launched 8th Edition of the National Essential Medicine List.
He noted these reforms align with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritizes healthcare infrastructure, local pharmaceutical production, and human capital development.
Pate further showcased Nigeria’s growing global reputation in pharmacy, citing:
Nationwide Pharmacovigilance Centres established through NAFDAC,
Rising local drug manufacturing capacity,
Expansion of clinical pharmacy practice in hospitals and primary health centres.
“These milestones reflect the resilience, innovation, and professionalism of Nigeria’s pharmacists,” Pate affirmed.
Urging stronger private sector and global partnership, the Minister called for sustained investment in pharmacy education, research, regulation, and innovation to stamp out substandard drugs and counterfeit medicines.
“Nigeria will be the hub of medicine in Africa. But we depend on the pharmacy profession to achieve that,” he declared. “Every Nigerian deserves access to safe, effective, and affordable medicines.”
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Daju Kachollom, mni, represented by Mrs. Olufowobi Yusuf Adeola, described pharmacists as “the backbone of Nigeria’s healthcare system”, affirming the year’s theme: “Think Health, Think Pharmacists.”
The celebration also featured a medical outreach for civil servants and the public, where pharmacists provided consultations, medications, and health education.
Goodwill messages poured in from NAFDAC, the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), Codix Pharmaceuticals, and MEBS, underscoring the growing recognition of pharmacists as indispensable to public health and national development.
