44th Annual International Conference—ACPN Embraces Tech-Driven Healthcare
5 min read
44th Annual International Conference—ACPN Embraces Tech-Driven Healthcare
……plan to work against fake and counterfeit drugs
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…… call on all community pharmacists, healthcare professionals, industry leaders, and development partners to attend
By Naomi Onome
ACPN makes an official announcement for the 44th Annual International Conference of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), scheduled to take place from July 22nd to July 27th, 2025, in Awka, Anambra State during a press conference in Abuja. The conference theme is “Technology Integration, Personalized Care: The Future of Community Pharmacy Practice.”
The highlights of the conference touch on the importance of technology and personalized care in community pharmacy practice, citing the need for digital innovations, artificial intelligence, and telepharmacy to meet the demands of a tech-savvy population. It also emphasizes the issue of fake drugs and food products in Nigeria, calling for urgent action to address this problem.
The conference will feature various activities, including keynote addresses, workshops, exhibitions, and a walk against fake and counterfeit medicines. The event aims to bring together healthcare professionals, policymakers, and industry leaders to shape the future of pharmacy practice in Nigeria.
A statement signed by Pharm. Ezeh Ambrose Igwekamma, National Chairman, ACPN, on July 4, 2025, reads,
As the National Chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), I am pleased to officially announce and invite all Nigerians, particularly healthcare stakeholders, to the 44th Annual International Conference of our noble Association, which is scheduled to take place from Monday, July 22nd, to Saturday, July 27th, 2025, in the vibrant city of Awka, Anambra State.
This year’s conference is themed “Technology Integration, Personalized Care: The Future of Community Pharmacy Practice.” This timely theme reflects our collective aspiration to reposition community pharmacy practice as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s evolving healthcare delivery system, using technology and personalized care models as levers of transformation.
We are at a critical juncture where the traditional roles of community pharmacists must expand to meet the rising demands of a tech-savvy, wellness-conscious population. The ACPN recognizes that embracing digital innovations, artificial intelligence, telepharmacy, electronic health records, point-of-care testing, and other tech-enabled solutions is no longer optional—it is imperative. Personalized pharmaceutical care must also take center stage, ensuring that every Nigerian gets tailored, patient-centered, and data-driven services from the pharmacy closest to them.
As far back as 1988, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), carried out studies on the prevailing drug distribution system in Nigeria. The WHO studies revealed that 33% of drugs in circulation in Nigeria were fake, and 7% of this quantum was fatal on consumption.
This led to the promulgation of Nigeria’s first decree on fake, counterfeit, and unwholesome food substances (Decree 21 of 1988), which was subsequently amended by Decree 17 of 1989.
Ten years later, in 1998, a review exercise by the Faculty of Pharmacy UNILAG revealed more startling realities. At this time, 49.6% of fake drugs were traceable to Open Drug Markets (ODM), and 32.8% were directed to the doorstep of Patent Medicine Vendors. 12.8% of the fake drug incidents led to fatalities, while 10.8% ended in therapeutic failure.
The late Dora Akunyili era gave some hope and respite, as it appeared there was a significant drop in fake drug incidence between 2001 and 2009, when she held sway at NAFDAC.
The influx of fake drugs, foods, and especially drinks in Nigeria has become a major source of worry in contemporary times.
Our usually reliable and dependable research-based efforts indicate that we are back to the days of over 50% of drugs in circulation being fake and substandard, as against official figures hovering between 13% and 15%.
Despite some modest efforts by NAFDAC, the influx of fake drugs and unwholesome food and drinks has surged very significantly in the last five years, when the Federal Task Force and the equivalent State Task Forces have almost become moribund with negligible regulatory output.
At the closing stages of the 1999 transition, the Fake Drug Act was entrenched in the statutes, but this has not been substantially activated in recent times.
One of the most positive outputs in the new order at NAFDAC was the landmark collaboration with the PCN in January 2024 to seal the Sabon-Geri drug market immediately after the first Coordinated Wholesale Center (CWC) in Nigeria was officially launched in Kano, Kano State.
For the record, the CWCs are the well-regulated drug centers that are designed to replace the Open Drug Markets (ODMs) by virtue of the National Drug Distribution Guidelines (NDDG) released ten years ago in 2015.
It is the spirit of such collaborations we desire to save consumers of health from the almost 5 million unregistered drug-selling outfits that dot both the rural and urban centers in Nigeria.
The NASS must, as a matter of urgency, amend the existing Fake Drug and Unwholesome Food Act to become a much more potent act of parliament.
Apart from the dangers that Nigerians were familiar with in the case of fake drugs, the fake drink conundrum is assuming a gargantuan tens-of-billions-of-naira business championed by modern-day merchants of death.
The 44th Annual Conference will bring together over 3,000 local and international delegates, including pharmacists, technologists, policymakers, academics, researchers, students, and industry partners, to deliberate and collaborate on actionable strategies for moving our profession into the future.
Highlights of the event will include
* Walk against fake and counterfeit medicines.
*Keynote addresses and technical sessions led by global thought leaders in pharmacy and health tech
*Workshops and panels on emerging innovations, regulatory frameworks, and pharmaceutical entrepreneurship
ACPN Exhibition Expo showcasing technology companies, drug manufacturers, digital health platforms, and healthcare startups
Cultural night, gala awards, and leadership roundtables to celebrate achievements and foster professional unity
The government and good people of Anambra State have shown overwhelming support, and we are confident that Awka will provide the perfect atmosphere for inspiration, networking, and strategic advancement.
In conclusion, I call on all community pharmacists, healthcare professionals, industry leaders, and development partners to join us at this epoch-making event. Let us unite our efforts to shape a more resilient, innovative, and people-centered future for pharmacy practice in Nigeria.
Together, we shall build a community pharmacy model that delivers impact through innovation and compassion.
Long live the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria!
Long live the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria!
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
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