The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) is delighted to announce the official launch of the Promoting Accreditation for Community Health Services (PACS) Project. This groundbreaking initiative, supported by funding from MSD for Mothers and implemented by the Solina Centre for Development and Research (SCIDaR) in collaboration with the Society for Family Health (SFH), is set to revolutionize healthcare access and revenue opportunities for private community health service providers – satellite pharmacies and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) in Nigeria.
Pharmacist Fisayo Aderinola, an assistant director at PCN stated that “PCN is committed to improving the quality of services from pharmacies and patent medicine stores as part of its mandate to regulate the practice of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and patent medicine vendors.” She also encouraged the partners to ensure they work closely with the PCN Registrar’s office through every step of the project implementation.
The PACS Project aims to incentivize the participation of satellite pharmacies and patent medicine stores in the PCN accreditation program. This accreditation deploys capacity building, continuous training and supervision to upskill the community service providers to deliver quality PHC services in their target communities.
The project builds on a pre-existing accreditation program championed by the PCN and SFH as part of the IntegratE project with funding support from MSD for Mothers. This launch marks the continuation of a journey that has already shown promising results.
Patient medicine store owners who joined the accreditation earlier experienced a substantial increase in monthly sales ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 Naira. This boost in revenue was attributed to the provision of essential healthcare services, including family planning and malaria treatment.
“Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest maternal mortality. This is not what we are proud. However, research has shown that by making quality contraceptives available and accessible for women wishing to avoid pregnancy, maternal deaths would decline. There is a need to expand quality family planning services to women in Nigeria to save them from pregnancy-related problems. I am proud to announce that the PACS Project is supported by funding from MSD for Mothers, who are committed to identifying innovative ways to address maternal mortality in Nigeria.” – Iyadunni Olubode, Director of Nigeria Programmes at MSD for Mothers.
The PACS Project, at its core, seeks to enhance healthcare access and economic prospects for PPMVs by offering crucial services. Through innovative incentives, the project encourages PPMVs to participate in the accreditation program, thereby improving adherence to licensing guidelines established by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria. This approach is expected to elevate both the quality and quantity of family planning and primary healthcare services available to communities.
In addition to its service-focused objectives, the PACS Project will play a pivotal role in facilitating access to microcredit facilities, quality commodity and branding services for satellite pharmacies and PPMVs. By establishing connections with relevant financing institutions and providing training in sound business financial management practices, the project ensures. long-term sustainability.
The official launch of the PACS Project represents an exciting new chapter in Nigeria’s healthcare landscape, building upon the successes achieved during the pilot phase.
