The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has challenged pharmacists to move beyond their traditional role of medicine dispensing and take a more active position in patient-centred and preventive healthcare. This call was made by Ayuba Tanko, PSN President, in his 2026 World Pharmacists Day message. The theme of the message was “Empowering Pharmacists for a Healthier Future.” Tanko emphasized that pharmacists are not just dispensers of medicines but healthcare professionals, educators, counsellors, advocates, and partners in patient care.
According to Tanko, the profession of pharmacy remains critical to protecting lives and improving health outcomes, particularly through pharmacists’ direct and regular contact with patients. Pharmacists routinely help patients understand medicines, promote treatment adherence, identify potentially harmful drug-drug, food-drug, and drug-disease interactions, and provide guidance on disease prevention and healthy living. The accessibility of pharmacists, particularly at the community level, provides a unique opportunity to strengthen public health and ensure that people receive professional guidance before health conditions worsen.
Tanko noted that rapid advances in technology, artificial intelligence, digital health, new medicines, and personalised treatment are reshaping healthcare, requiring pharmacists to continuously update their knowledge and adopt evidence-based practices. He stressed that the future of healthcare is changing rapidly, with advances in technology, artificial intelligence, digital health, new medicines, personalised treatment, and changing patterns of disease. As healthcare evolves, pharmacists must also evolve with it, improving their knowledge, embracing technology, practicing evidence-based medicine, and placing the patient at the centre of everything they do.
The PSN president warned against unsafe medication practices, including medicine misuse, self-medication, antimicrobial resistance, counterfeit medicines, and inappropriate antibiotic use. He urged pharmacists to strengthen patient education on correct dosage, timing, possible side effects, precautions, and adverse drug reactions. Tanko also called for a broader public health role for pharmacists, urging them to participate more actively in vaccination awareness, blood pressure and blood sugar screening, health education, smoking cessation support, and maternal and child health education.
Tanko specifically urged pharmacists to implement the resolution of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) on activating pharmacy-based clinics to provide such services, while ensuring proper documentation and institutionalisation of data collection. He stressed that stronger collaboration among healthcare professionals is essential, saying healthcare delivery should be viewed as teamwork rather than competition, with the patient remaining the ultimate beneficiary.
The PSN president announced that the society would celebrate its centenary in the first quarter of 2027, with activities including a centenary declaration, launch of a centenary endowment fund, public lectures, a centenary publication, and a banquet and awards night. He charged pharmacists and those entering the profession to uphold the dignity and integrity of the profession, put patients first, embrace innovation, pursue lifelong learning, speak against unsafe medication practices, and mentor younger pharmacists.
Tanko concluded that the future of healthcare would require courage, innovation, compassion, and collaboration, and that pharmacists have an important role in shaping that future. He urged pharmacists to remain committed to safe and effective medicine use, improved patient care, service to humanity, and better health outcomes. The PSN president emphasized that a healthier future is not something that will happen by chance, but something that must be built together.
Key points
- Pharmacists must move beyond medicine dispensing and take a more active role in patient-centred and preventive healthcare.
- The profession of pharmacy remains critical to protecting lives and improving health outcomes.
- Pharmacists must continuously update their knowledge and adopt evidence-based practices to keep up with advances in healthcare.
