Nigeria's pharmaceutical sector is facing mounting pressure as the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has revealed that nearly 10,000 pharmacists have left the country over the past five years in search of better career opportunities abroad.
The association described the growing migration of healthcare professionals as a serious threat to the country's healthcare delivery system, warning that the continued loss of skilled pharmacists could further weaken access to quality pharmaceutical services and drug management.
Speaking on Tuesday at the opening of the 45th Annual National Scientific Conference of the ACPN held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Scientific Conference Centre in Abuja, the National Chairman of the association, Pharm. Ambrose Ezeh, said official records showed an alarming increase in the number of pharmacists relocating overseas.
According to Ezeh, data from the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) National Secretariat indicated that about 9,000 pharmacists left Nigeria during the four and a half years leading up to December 2025, while an additional more than 850 pharmacists obtained letters of good standing from the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) within the first six months of 2026 to facilitate their relocation.
"The fortunes of the profession continue to plummet rather dangerously in recent years," he said.
"Data at the PSN National Secretariat confirm the exit of about 9,000 pharmacists in the four and a half years preceding December 2025. The first six months of 2026 have not been significantly better, as over 850 pharmacists have collected letters of good standing from the PCN and moved on to countries like Canada, the UK, Australia and, to a much lesser extent, the USA and some Asian territories."
Ezeh attributed the mass exodus to poor remuneration, inadequate workforce development policies and the failure to fully implement the National Drug Distribution Guidelines introduced in 2015.
He also argued that the absence of a well-defined national drug procurement policy has continued to undermine pharmacy practice and compromise patient safety.
"Some of the glaring challenges are the not-too-impressive reward system and the poor drug distribution system, which impinges on the image of the profession," he said.
The ACPN chairman called on the Federal Government to sponsor executive bills aimed at strengthening the pharmaceutical sector and improving healthcare delivery across the country.
Among the proposals, he urged the government to amend the Fake Drug Act, establish a Federal Drug Management Agency or Drug Revolving Fund Agency, and create a National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy to train specialist pharmacists in critical areas of practice.
On the growing challenge of counterfeit medicines, Ezeh said existing penalties were too weak to discourage offenders, warning that the activities of fake drug dealers were discouraging investment in Nigeria's pharmaceutical industry.
"The activities of charlatans are not encouraging pharma investors because of the extremely feeble sanction culture the Fake Drug Act offers," he said.
"In alignment with PSN proposals, the ACPN calls for 20 years' imprisonment for first offenders and life imprisonment, as well as outright forfeiture of all known assets, for subsequent offenders."
He also advocated for legislation to institutionalise the Drug Revolving Fund (DRF) system, noting that although the National Council on Health approved the policy in December 2024, implementation has remained weak due to institutional shortcomings.
Ezeh further stressed the need to establish a National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy, arguing that Nigeria currently shoulders more than 95 percent of the funding burden for the West Africa Postgraduate College of Pharmacists, despite several member countries establishing their own national institutions.
"Only Nigeria funds the subsidy gap of over 95 per cent to nurture the sub-regional college in forex. This should be a cause for concern for Nigerian authorities."
Beyond workforce shortages, the ACPN expressed concern over the increasing rate of drug abuse in Nigeria, describing it as a national emergency.
Citing findings from the 2018 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) survey, Ezeh said more than 21.2 million Nigerians abuse one form of psychoactive substance or another.
"We currently have 21,213,000 people who abuse various substances. This confirms the fact that drug abuse is a cankerworm eating really deep into the fibre of Nigerian society."
He identified cannabis, opioids, codeine-based cough syrups, sedatives, ecstasy, solvents, inhalants and cocaine as some of the most commonly abused substances.
According to the ACPN, factors driving the crisis include unemployment, poverty, dysfunctional family systems, peer pressure, weak prescription control, porous borders, the influence of social media and corruption at the nation's ports.
To address the situation, the association urged the Federal Government to strengthen the enforcement of drug laws, impose tougher sanctions on drug traffickers and illegal medicine vendors, improve regulation of prescription drugs and establish more rehabilitation centres nationwide.
Ezeh also called for stronger collaboration between government agencies and professional bodies, including the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and the ACPN, to intensify nationwide campaigns against substance abuse.
"Government must ensure that law enforcement agents like NDLEA, PCN, NAFDAC, Police and Judiciary are provided with adequate tools to work and rewarded for the good work they do," he said.
"On the other hand, officers who engage in drug use should be severely punished and dismissed from service to serve as a deterrent."
He expressed optimism that the conference would strengthen collaboration between the pharmaceutical profession and government in addressing Nigeria's healthcare, drug distribution and public health challenges.