About 9,000 pharmacists have emigrated from Nigeria in the four-and-a-half years to December 2025, with more than 850 others obtaining letters of good standing from the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) in the first six months of 2026, raising fresh concerns over a worsening manpower crisis in the country’s healthcare system.
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) disclosed the figures at its 45th Annual National Scientific Conference in Abuja, warning that the continued exodus of pharmacy professionals, coupled with weak medicine regulation, insecurity in the pharmaceutical supply chain and rising substance abuse, poses a serious threat to public health.
The conference, held from July 27 to August 1, 2026, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, brought together government officials, regulators, legislators, pharmacists and pharmaceutical industry stakeholders to examine challenges confronting the sector.
The ACPN National Chairman, Pharm. Ezeh Ambrose Igwekamma, said the migration of pharmacists had continued into 2026, with professionals seeking opportunities in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States.
According to him, the departure of highly trained pharmacists is creating a manpower shortage capable of undermining patient safety, quality healthcare delivery and the sustainability of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry.
Igwekamma attributed the brain drain to poor reward systems, delayed enforcement of drug distribution guidelines and disorganised medicine procurement networks.
He called for urgent government intervention to make pharmacy practice more attractive and strengthen the pharmaceutical sector.
The conference, themed “UNITY 2026: From Local Pharmacy Practice to Global Impact – Managing Complex Healthcare Systems,” also focused on medicine security, universal health coverage, digital regulation, healthcare financing and the growing abuse of drugs and other substances.
Igwekamma urged the Federal Government to treat pharmacists as strategic partners in healthcare governance and national development, stressing that the profession could contribute significantly to efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s health system.
Calls for overhaul
Delivering the keynote address, “Raising Community Pharmacy Practice in Nigeria to Global Standards: Navigating the Complex Nigerian Political System,” Pharm. Wale Oyenuga called for a fundamental restructuring of community pharmacy practice.
He argued that pharmacists must move beyond the traditional role of dispensing medicines and become more integrated into the delivery of comprehensive healthcare services.
Oyenuga proposed a five-pillar transformation agenda based on a unified national vision, stronger quality frameworks, digital-first data systems, formal integration of community pharmacists into primary healthcare and increased participation in healthcare financing under the National Health Insurance Authority Act.
He said community pharmacists were among the most accessible healthcare professionals in Nigeria but remained largely excluded from national health policy and financing structures.
Oyenuga maintained that closing the gap would be critical to improving healthcare access and moving Nigeria closer to international standards.
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) also backed stronger integration of community pharmacies into primary healthcare and health insurance.
Representing the NPHCDA Executive Director, Dr Muyiwa Aina, Pharm. Hauwa said achieving universal health coverage would require the formal inclusion of community pharmacists in health policies, expansion of their clinical scope and their incorporation into health insurance reimbursement models.
NHIA Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, similarly advocated greater utilisation of Nigeria’s extensive community pharmacy network to expand healthcare access and decentralise health financing.
Drug abuse raises concern
The conference also drew attention to Nigeria’s growing substance abuse crisis.
Igwekamma, citing data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said more than 21.2 million Nigerians abuse various substances.
He identified unemployment, poverty, dysfunctional family structures, peer pressure, inadequate public awareness, weak enforcement of drug laws, porous borders, corruption, poor prescription control and social media influence as factors driving the problem.
The ACPN called for tougher sanctions against illicit drug dispensers, increased taxation of tobacco and alcohol, modern rehabilitation centres and stronger capacity for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), PCN and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Tougher sanctions proposed
The association also called for legislative reforms to strengthen Nigeria’s fight against counterfeit and substandard medicines.
It proposed amendments to the Fake Drug Act to impose a 20-year prison sentence on first-time offenders and life imprisonment with total asset forfeiture for repeat offenders.
It further called for the establishment of a Drug Management Agency to institutionalise the Drug Revolving Fund and a National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy to train specialist pharmacists locally, reduce dependence on overseas training and conserve foreign exchange.
Igwekamma also proposed a Presidential Committee on the Pharmaceutical Sector to coordinate reforms and address persistent bottlenecks affecting the industry.
Regulators seek stronger medicine surveillance
The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria said it was strengthening professional regulation, including efforts to regulate online pharmacy practice.
The PCN Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Pharm. Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, said the council also facilitated specialised Mandatory Continuing Professional Development training during the conference covering cardiopulmonary resuscitation, professional ethics and substance abuse prevention.
NAFDAC, meanwhile, warned that changes in global pharmaceutical supply chains, cross-border trade, digital marketplaces, emerging diseases, antimicrobial resistance, artificial intelligence and increasingly sophisticated counterfeit medicine networks were creating new regulatory challenges.
Representing NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, Dr Ramatu Momodu said the agency’s responsibility extended beyond medicine registration to monitoring products throughout their lifecycle.
She urged pharmacists to use digital regulatory tools, including the NAFDAC Greenbook, Med Safety App and Scan2Verify technology.
Momodu said every community pharmacy should function as a surveillance point while every pharmacist should serve as a guardian of the medicine supply chain.
Government urged to act
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, commended the ACPN for its contribution to medicine quality and urged pharmacists to deepen collaboration with state governments, particularly on medicine security.
The President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Pharm. Ayuba Tanko Ibrahim, stressed the importance of professional unity and policy alignment, noting that community pharmacists often serve as the first point of contact for Nigerians seeking healthcare.
Representing Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Murtala Muhammad Bagana, described community pharmacies as resilient frontline healthcare centres whose role should be fully integrated into Nigeria’s primary healthcare system.
Other pharmacy leaders, including the Chairman of the Board of Fellows of the PSN, Pharm. Uche Nroegbu Apakama; National Chairman of the Clinical Pharmacists Association of Nigeria, Dr Maureen Nwafor; National Chairman of the Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria, Pharm. Elechi Oyim; and National Chairman of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria, Pharm. Sir Bankole Aminu Ezebuilo, called for greater collaboration across the profession.
They argued that stronger cooperation among pharmacists in community, clinical, hospital and industrial practice was necessary to improve medicine security, patient-centred care and universal health coverage.
For the ACPN, however, the growing number of pharmacists leaving Nigeria remains one of the most immediate threats confronting the profession.
The association warned that without urgent action to retain skilled professionals, reform medicine regulation and integrate pharmacists into the wider healthcare system, Nigeria risks losing the human resources required to deliver safe medicines and achieve universal health coverage.