E-drug: Public Health Pharmacy in Africa (5)
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Dear All,
Pharmacy as a profession is dynamic in nature and so is the demand exerted on the knowledge acquire through formal training. I concur with Billy about the gap that exists between training objectives and practice objectives. From a broader sense of view, resource availability to elevate the health status of a population a shrinking by each day, as a result of decrease resource base or increase health seeking behaviour (for various reasons), increased knowledge base of population and emergency of ailments, diseases, resistance etc.
Public health approaches hence seek to address the broader objective of elevating and maintenance of the health status of population, most pharmacy training objectives in Africa at undergraduate curricular seeks to address the indvidual's health which in my opinion are a derivative of the curricula from the developed countries which have appreciable resource base ( which i must say is a good foundation). Beyond such unit of analysis and focus (the individual) in terms of addressing health issues, we African Health systems need to revise our curricula to incorporate the public approach to pharnmacy services. Issue of Supply Chain management, RDU etc as highlighted by Llyod Matowe, Improvement in access to pharmaceutical services, pharmaceutical service financing, pharmacoeconomics, pharmacoepidemiology, better buys per unit (unit measure being the population, a community, a region etc), better use of limited resource through informed resource allocation - financial and non-financial), these are the problems we face in Africa. What should we buy more of and at what trade-off. But however like Dr Matowe has eluded for those in practice, innovation is key.
Regards
Travor Mabugu
Pharmacist/health economist
University of Zimbabwe
travormabugu@yahoo.com
The current discussion on Public Health Pharmacy in Africa is desirable at this time that many professions are pitching their tents on the side of public health. For too long pharmacy has been too silent on this, yet, it has always been a foremost provider of public health services at all levels. There is no doubt in the minds of well-meaning healthcare professionals (pharmacists, medical practitioners, nurses, etc,) that pharmacists are public health professionals, yet, it is sad that many pharmacists do not see themselves as such. Almost all the subjects/courses that are taught in public health pharmacy are already in the curricula of most of our faculty of pharmacy scattered in the various departments. What I suggest we ought to do is to create identifiable departments of public health pharmacy in our faculties, alternatively, if dept creating is not financially feasible, there can be units and/or sub-dept which will eventually evolve into full fledged departments.
At the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP), we have created a Faculty of Public Health Pharmacy to promote this specialty in pharmacy.
Let me also congratulate Dr Lloyd Matowe for his pioneering role.
Fola Tayo,
President, West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists,
Taylor Drive, Lagos. Nigeria, and retired Professor of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Lagos, Nigeria
Dear E-Druggers
I am very much interested in this discussion of Public Health Pharmacy. For sure we need to promote this concept in our countries. There are so many areas pharmacists can play to promote public health. We should remember, pharmacy is one of the major outlet/facility the community will go to seek medical care (including selection of medicines). The pharmacist has a bigger role to play in a number of areas such as supply chain management, patient counselling, Pharmacy Practice evaluation, Financing, Managed Care Pharmacy, Pharmacoeconomics, rational drug uses Cultural Perspectives, Public Health Informatics, and Health Emergency Preparedness.
The HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment Project (AIDSRELIEF) is integrating pharmacists in the strengthening health system for delivery of HIV/AIDS services - specifically they focus on improving supply chain management, pharmacovigilance, rational drug use, tracking lost to follow up patients by utilization of ARV Drug pick up analysis.
The universities, ministries of health, pharmacy council, pharmacist associations, private sector and pharmacists themselves need work together to promote public health in pharmacy.
Thanks
Mwemezi Elnathan Ngemera, BPharm, MAHMPP
AIDSRelief Deputy Chief of Party
Tanzania
ngemera@gmail.com
E-drug: Public Health Pharmacy in Africa (8)
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Dear all
Public Health Pharmacy in Africa may be achievable through curricular
indulgence, but perhaps of further importance would be employment
opportunities after completion. I think Public Health Pharmacy might not
still be well recognized among various institutions for us to avail good
opportunities in our home-land. On the other hand, I have seen medical
doctors holding Public Health qualifications and getting employed smoothly.
Even dentists who pursue public health have similar employment issue as
ourselves.
Nadiya Navroze
B.Pharm, MSc. HPM
nadiya.navroze@gmail.com
E-drug: Public Health Pharmacy in Africa (9)
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Dear all
The Alma-Ata Declaration of 1978 emphasized intersectoral collaboration to improve primary care. More recently the strategy «One World, One Health» is being promoted to strengthen intersectoral collaboration among health professionals working in disease surveillance and outbreak response under USAID Emerging Pandemic Threat Program (EPT). Under this strategy, medical doctors, veterinarians and environmentalists are called to work closely. I think instead of creating new departments/faculties, I would instead suggest that professionals from various health sectors work towards creating integrated public health programs/schools. Like pharmacists, veterinarians also believe - and rightly so - that they play an important role in public health. About 75 percent of emerging diseases have an animal origin and many of these diseases come from wildlife. Pharmacists, in most of the cases, are the first health professionals in contact with the community. Let’s start looking at ways to integrate our activities and public health programs in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
Diafuka Saila-Ngita, VMD, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor, Cummings Veterinary
School - Tufts University, MA - USA
Technical Advisor - RESPOND/West Congo Basin
Kinshasa, DRC
USAID grantee| RESPOND Project
sailangita@yahoo.com
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Dear E-Druggers,
I am happy to read the and follow the debate on Public Health Pharmacy on
e-drug since its a specialization that was poorly understood and been
therefore given a low deal. As one of the pharmacists who risked studying
MPH (Masters in Public Health) in the earlier days when little was known in
this field in Kenya I share and agree with the suggestions of Fola Tayo that
instead of looking down on public Health as a specialization all pharmacists
must include aspects of public health the undergraduate and post graduate
curriculum because drug supply management training and many other
pharmaceutical practices is an invaluable aspect of management that was and
is traditionally missed out the the pharmacy training.
Dr Bilha Kiama Murage
Bpharm Nairobi, MPH, Boston University SPH' 98
Pharmacist in Charge
Kenyatta University Health unit
bmurage2001@gmail.com