At its First National Summit, NAPPMED National President, Prince Joel Odoh, said the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has insisted that the patent medicine dealers, also known as “chemists”, must come under its regulations. The Council said those without its license would be treated as criminal, and that the patent medicine dealers under the umbrella body of the Nigerian Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPPMED) said it was not against regulation; rather, that PCN’s scope of operation should be expanded to reflect their relevance. Prince Joel Odoh, said what his members wanted from the government and its regulatory body is a dialogue on the expansion of work that the group should be allowed to do, “for instance, the current PCN regulation guiding the operations of NAPPMED does not allow members to treat certain diseases like diarrhea. This is a big shortcoming that must be addressed” saying that “Some of the issues we are dealing with have to do with licensing. We don’t have to deceive ourselves- the license PCN is giving the patent dealers does not cover all our operations. That license does not cover treatment of diarrhea and headache, even for those in the rural areas where serious medical care is urgently required, we can’t give First Aid. NAPPMED is not afraid of regulation but is averse to limiting of its operation, is inimical to its members’ existence.” He stressed that with over 950,000 members, the group should be given some recognition.
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