The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has called on the Federal Government to urgently adopt a nationwide ‘Pharmacy First’ protocol, positioning community pharmacies as frontline centres for the early identification of suspected Ebola cases and other infectious disease outbreaks.
The association said Nigeria could strengthen its epidemic preparedness by integrating community pharmacists into the national disease surveillance system, leveraging their widespread presence to improve early detection, facilitate timely referrals and reduce pressure on secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities.
In a position statement issued after a press conference and signed by its National Chairman, Pharm. Ezeh Ambrose, the ACPN urged federal and state health authorities to formally recognise community pharmacies as critical partners in epidemic surveillance and primary healthcare delivery.
The association maintained that deploying the proposed protocol across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas would bring early symptom identification closer to the people, particularly in communities where access to conventional healthcare facilities may be limited.
“We consider it necessary to sensitise and mobilise the Federal Government to approve specific investment plans to leverage the Pharmacy First Initiative as a front-line Ebola detection protocol, which stands as one of the best mechanisms to catalyse Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria,” the statement read.
According to the ACPN, the initiative would expand community pharmacy practice beyond the dispensing of medicines to include early symptom recognition, health education, basic screening and prompt referral of individuals presenting with symptoms suggestive of Ebola or other infectious diseases.
The association explained that properly structured community pharmacies could serve as accessible first-contact points, helping to identify suspected cases early and directing them to designated health facilities for appropriate assessment and testing.
It added that the approach could strengthen referral pathways, support contact-tracing efforts and ensure that individuals suspected of having highly infectious diseases receive timely guidance on isolation and further medical evaluation, thereby reducing the risk of exposure in crowded hospital settings.
“At the centre of strategising for epidemic response and Universal Health Coverage, governments at all levels must structure community pharmacies to provide first-line Ebola screening and Primary Health Care services through better access to essential drugs and management of uncomplicated diseases, which ultimately reduces the burden of services on secondary and tertiary health facilities,” the association stated.
To meet these expanding public health responsibilities, the ACPN urged community pharmacists nationwide to improve operational standards, embrace modern practice models and invest in facility upgrades that would support quality service delivery.
“In view of changing times, Community Pharmacists must respond accordingly to explore investment opportunities with free funds to achieve the goals of Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) in the realistic interest of patients,” the statement added.
The association, however, identified persistent gaps in policy leadership, digital integration, evidence generation, quality improvement and collaboration among healthcare professionals as major obstacles to Nigeria’s epidemic preparedness and response.
To address these challenges, it proposed a reform framework built around five key priorities: establishing a unified vision for epidemic preparedness, improving clinical quality and public trust, integrating digital technology and data-driven surveillance into routine pharmacy practice, strengthening collaboration with primary healthcare centres, and building effective partnerships with health insurance providers.
The ACPN further called for standardised reporting systems that would enable community pharmacies to transmit relevant surveillance data to national health databases, giving public health authorities access to timely information for monitoring disease patterns and identifying potential outbreaks.
Citing international experiences, the association noted that community pharmacy networks had helped sustain access to essential healthcare services and support frontline clinical activities during public health emergencies. It referenced the United Kingdom as an example of a health system where community pharmacies have played an important role in maintaining access to care when conventional medical services faced disruptions.
Pharm. Ezeh said deeper integration of community pharmacies into Nigeria’s primary healthcare system remained a practical pathway to bringing essential services closer to communities, improving access to care and strengthening the country’s capacity to respond to public health emergencies.
He warned that delays in establishing an effective grassroots surveillance mechanism could undermine outbreak response efforts and expose healthcare workers, patients and the wider population to avoidable risks.
“We cannot afford to repeat past missteps where delayed grassroots surveillance allowed outbreaks to spiral out of control. If the Federal Government fails to integrate community pharmacies into this primary protocol, our major hospitals will inevitably become ground zero for cross-infection, overwhelmed before an outbreak is even fully mapped. Leaving community pharmacies out of the first line of defence is not just a missed opportunity; it is an unacceptable hazard to national health security,” he said.
The ACPN chairman subsequently called on President Bola Tinubu to issue an executive directive enabling the immediate implementation of the proposed protocol, arguing that the existing network of community pharmacies could provide a foundation for rapid deployment.
“Every day of delay places an unnecessary burden on our tertiary hospitals and leaves millions of Nigerians without accessible early detection. Community pharmacies are already fully staffed, equipped, and embedded across all 774 Local Government Areas. We require zero infrastructure expenditure from the government to deploy this immediately. We urge President Bola Tinubu to issue the enabling policy directive today, and our national network will activate the ‘Pharmacy First’ screening protocol within 48 hours,” Pharm. Ezeh declared.
The association concluded by urging the Tinubu administration and the Federal Ministry of Health to establish a joint task force to develop and formalise the framework, including clear clinical guidelines, referral procedures, surveillance protocols and coordination mechanisms for community pharmacists.
For the ACPN, the central message is that Nigeria’s first line of defence against a potential epidemic should extend beyond hospital walls to the neighbourhood pharmacies that millions of citizens already visit for healthcare advice and essential medicines. It argued that with appropriate government backing, professional standards and integration into the national surveillance system, these facilities could become a critical link between communities and the country’s wider epidemic response network.
