The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) has stressed the need to use pharmacy to strengthen the country’s health system in order to prepare adequately for the next pandemic. Mr Kwabena Asante Offei, Vice President of the PSGH, who made the call in an address to commemorate the 2023 World Pharmacists Day, said strengthening the health system would require designation of community pharmacies as primary healthcare centres. Also, it will focus on equipping pharmacists and the pharmaceutical workforce with the needed skills, competences and training to be able to take on more expanded and advance roles. This requires putting in the needed support, legislation, guidelines and training, he said. The theme for the 2023 World Pharmacists Day is ‘Pharmacy Strengthening Health Systems.’ ‘From discovery, manufacturing, compounding, regulation, dispensing and administration of medicines, pharmacists have demonstrated expertise in prevention and treatment of disease.’ He said at a time when health systems as well as economies around the world were gradually recovering from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the consensus was that urgent action was needed for health services to meet future needs. He said the theme for the 2023 WPD was to help avert the minds of pharmacists, policy makers and the public to the need to position pharmacy to be able to help make health systems robust and resilient to withstand the next pandemic and other health situations. ‘The Pharmacy profession’s contributions globally during the COVID-19 pandemic have taught us that, it is an intelligent solution to help strengthen health systems,’ Mr Offei added. During the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana, community pharmacies were among the essential service providers allowed to open when many services were shut down during the lock-down and many made community pharmacies their first port of call for routine care as well as for chronically ill patients to have refills of their medications. ‘A well-functioning health system is one having: an accessible and a reliable supply of medicines and technologies; trained and motivated healthcare workers; good infrastructure, good governance, evidence-based policies and adequate funding,’ he said. Throughout this week, pharmacists in all the regions will embark on health screening including BP measurements, BMI, among others. There will also be followed by health education and counselling to ensure Ghanaians live healthy and derive the intended benefits from our medications if we have to take medicines for any reason.

Source: Ghana News Agency