By Chioma Obinna
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN, on Sunday urged Senate President Godswill Akpabio to halt the proposed National Health Facility Regulatory Agency, NHFRA, Bill, warning that the move could trigger another round of crisis in Nigeria’s fragile health sector.
In a petition to the Senate, and made available to Vanguard, the pharmacists described the bill as an unnecessary duplication of existing laws and regulatory structures, insisting that the National Health Act 2014 already provides enough legal backing for the regulation of health facilities nationwide.
The petition addressed to the Senate President and entitled: “Stop the National Health Facility Regulatory Agency (NHFRA) Bill in National Interest.” and signed by the ACPN National Chairman, Pharm. Ambrose Ezeh, ACPN said the proposed legislation was capable of destabilising the relative peace among health professionals and creating fresh tensions in a sector long plagued by rivalry.
“We strongly urge the National Assembly and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation to fact-check and stop further action on this bill in the national interest,” Ezeh said.
The association argued that Nigeria already has established regulatory agencies for major health professions, including the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, warning that the NHFRA would only duplicate responsibilities and drain scarce resources.
According to the pharmacists, the real gap in health regulation lies in federal tertiary hospitals, including teaching hospitals and Federal Medical Centres, which they said should be addressed through the activation of the Tertiary Health Facility Commission already provided for in law.
“It is logical to activate existing provisions of the National Health Act rather than create another bureaucracy,” Ezeh stated.
The ACPN also accused promoters of the bill of attempting to centralise health sector regulation under medical doctors, pointing to provisions in the draft that reserve the Director-General position exclusively for physicians.
“This will stir the hornet’s nest. Any agenda bordering on a centralised health regulatory agency will be resisted by stakeholders,” the association warned.