KEY POINTS
- Soludo asked pharmacists to help tackle fake drugs and illegal operators.
- Anambra is developing a pharmaceutical hub in Oba and a wholesale center.
- Soludo says the state’s out-of-school rate has fallen to 0.25%.
Anambra State Gov. Chukwuma Soludo has called on pharmacists to help his administration tackle fake drugs, improve health care and turn the Nigerian state into a major pharmaceutical hub, Vanguard reported.
Soludo spoke while opening the 99th annual national conference of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, or PSN, in Awka. This year’s gathering, tagged Ijele 2026, centers on a One Health theme linking knowledge, practice and policy.
He described pharmacists as essential partners in building an efficient and sustainable health system. So he urged the PSN to work with the state to enforce standards and clean up the sector.
Fake drugs and illegal operators targeted
In particular, Soludo pointed to counterfeit medicines and illegal operators posing as licensed pharmacies.
Meanwhile, he said the state is consolidating its role as a pharmaceutical center. It is developing a pharmaceutical hub in Oba and a Coordinated Wholesale Centre, which he said should be completed early next year.
Soludo touts health and school gains
The governor also highlighted his administration’s spending on education and health. He said free schooling from kindergarten through secondary school had cut the state’s out-of-school children rate to 0.25%, which he called the lowest in the country.
In addition, the state has strengthened primary health care, provided free antenatal services to more than 250,000 beneficiaries and performed over 950 free cesarean sections for expectant mothers, he said.
Earlier, PSN President Ayuba Tanko Ibrahim praised Soludo’s support for the profession. He said Anambra’s hosting of the conference fulfilled a longstanding commitment and offered a chance to deepen cooperation between pharmacists and government.
