By Hassan Zaggi
The Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) has concluded plans to computerize the entire drug distribution system in the country.
Chairman, PCN Governing Council, Prof. Ahmed Mora, disclosed this at a media briefing in Abuja, weekend.
He noted that even though the project seems huge one, but, however, expressed optimism that it is achieveable in the near future.
“Of course we have an ICT unit here under the registrar’s office, but for monitoring of the distribution of drug all over the country, we are trying to computerize the entire drug distribution system in this country and we have visited the Head of Services.
“We made a request and the formality towards us getting the place on ground is in place. It’s a big project though, but we have to start somewhere,” he said.
On the issue of internship for graduate pharmacists, Mora lamented that most pharmacists don’t get where to do their one year internship months after their induction.
“There are not enough places for the number of grandaunt pharmacists that are produced in the country to do their mandatory one year training.
“This is a huge problem for us. These youths, sometimes they get frustrated. Two to three months after induction, they don’t have places to do their internship.
“We are actually giving the directors of pharmaceutical services forms to fill in the spaces that we have to look at the possibility of improvement of placement of internship vacancies for fresh graduates.
“We are also collating the available positions of vacancies at hand right now for fresh graduates to do their internship.
“We produce 1500 pharmacists every year so we look at it in such a way that we have a holistic approach to it.
“We are liaising with agencies to see that this whole issue is centralised in such a way that by the time they are being inducted as pharmacists, they already know where they are going for their internship training. We are really passionate about it.
“This information is important so that the youth will know that the PCN is doing something about it. Getting them proper placemen for their internship training,” he said.
