By Gabriel Olawale

President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PSN, Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai has urged Nigeria government to prevent death of under five children from pneumonia and diarrhea through access to life saving drugs.

L-R; Programme Director, [email protected] Project, Pharm. Ibrahim Tanko Ayuba; President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Pharm Ahmed Yakasai; NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye and Director, Registration and Regulatory Affairs, NAFDAC, Dr Monica Eimunjeze during advocacy visit to NAFDAC office in Lagos by PSN-Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health at Scale.

Yakasai who made the appeal during PSN-Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health at Scale, [email protected] courtesy visit to the Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said that not less than 854,000 of the 7,028,000 annual live-births in Nigeria die before their fifth birthday due to poor access to life-saving drugs.

“Out of this figure, about 196,420 are caused by pneumonia and diarrhea which are the 2nd & 3rd single causes of under-five deaths in Nigeria. Mainstreaming the use of Amoxicillin Dispersible Tablet (AMX DT) for Pneumonia and co-pack Zinc/Low Osmolarity Oral Rehydration Salt for Diarrhoea, would save the lives of many innocent Children from the killer diseases.

Corroborating his view, Programme Director, [email protected] Project, Pharm. Ibrahim Tanko Ayuba said that due to poor access to life-saving contraceptives, about 50 percent of adolescent girls in Nigeria are already mothers by the time they celebrate their 20th birthday.

Ayuba disclosed that about 111 women and girls dies every day in Nigeria from preventable pregnancies and child birth related complications which make Nigeria contributes 15 percent of global maternal deaths.

“To save the lives of our mothers and girls (of reproductive age) from unsafe abortions, drug abuse & other contraception related vices, there is need to expand the scope of family planning services and products provided by Community Pharmacists and Patent & Proprietary Medicines Vendors.

He however commends NAFDAC for safe guarding the health and wellbeing of Nigerians via ensuring only quality Pharmaceuticals are available in Nigeria and also felicitate with NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye for her well-deserved appointment.

In her own appreciation message, NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye said that they will not relent in safe guarding the health of Nigerians.

“We are not going to relent in safeguarding public health by ensuring that only the right quality drugs, food and other regulated products are manufactured, imported, distributed, advertised, sold and used in Nigeria.