Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has issued a warning against indiscriminate sale and display of antibiotics.
The centre also called for strict enforcement of prescription regulations to curb growing threat of Antimicrobial Resistance, AMR.
National Focal Point for Human Health on Antimicrobial Resistance, and Programme Manager at the NCDC, Ridwan Yahaya, made this known on Tuesday in Abuja, noting that pharmacists and medicine vendors must adhere strictly to prescription guidelines to prevent misuse of antibiotics.
He stressed that, according to Nigeria’s National Drug Policy, antibiotics are prescription-only medicines, meaning that they should only be dispensed upon a doctor’s directive.
Yahaya, however, said that widespread over-the-counter sale of antibiotics especially by community pharmacists and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors, PPMVs, has contributed to rising resistance to life-saving drugs.
He added that “no pharmacist is expected to display antibiotics on the shelf or dispense them without valid prescription, whether in a hospital or a community pharmacy.’’
“We are collaborating with relevant authorities to increase awareness and ensure enforcement of the laws.’’
He revealed that the NCDC is working with regulatory bodies to ensure compliance with prescription regulations, explaining that some medicine vendors are not supposed to stock antibiotics, yet they dispense them freely without prescriptions.
According to him, antimicrobial resistance is one of the top 10 global public health threats, with Nigeria particularly at risk due to poor infection control, lack of potable water and indiscriminate antibiotic use.
