Pharmaceutical Access
Drug shortages and irrational drug use is a leading cause of preventable deaths in Nigeria. Medical facilities and healthcare professions in the country face challenges in sourcing and verifying the quality of pharmaceuticals dispensed to patients. Due to the lack of human and technological resources available to assist regulatory agencies, counterfeit drugs continue to be a prominent public health issue, contributing to thousands of deaths each year.
Pharm Access Program
Through the Pharm Access program, RCN will be collaborate with credible local and international pharmaceutical companies to ensure availability of authentic brand and generic medications and nutritional supplements in qualified Primary Health Centers (PHC) in Anambra State, Nigeria.
PHCs in the Pharm Access network will be assessed on a number of criteria including, necessary basic infrastructure to support standardized pharmaceutical and pharmacy services, availability of a licensed pharmacist and other pharmacy personnel, proof of current registration with appropriate regulatory agencies, facility cleanliness, consumer records maintenance and properly designated storage area and conditions for pharmaceutical products.
Pharm Access Program will provide the following services to PHCs in its network:
- Support with acquisition of medications included in the World Health Organization (WHO) Essential Drug List
- Provide personnel training on inventory management, medication reconciliation, therapeutic drug monitoring, patient counseling and case-specific prescription reviews
- Perform systematic and routine measurements assessing the quality of services rendered at these PHCs using same protocols approved for all Pharm Access affiliate health systems