LAGOS  – The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), has called on the pharmaceutical industries to strengthen development, adoption and enforcement of standards to safeguard lives.

Mallam Farouk Salim, Director-General, SON, made this call during a public lecture at Igbenedion University, Okada, Edo State with the theme: “The Impact of Standards on the Practice of the Pharmacy Profession.”

Salim, who said standards was critical to the survival of the civil society, assured the safety of lives and properties as they establish boundaries and allocate responsibilities.

He noted that standards was particularly more crucial in the pharmaceutical sector given its role in the care of the weak and seeing that the pharmacy practice (clinical and industrial) had zero tolerance for error.

He said: “SON has explored the existing international, regional and national standards to meet up with the unique challenges facing the African trade including the pharmaceutical. Standards enhance investment in trade and Africa healthcare industry as enshrined in the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA).

“SON as a member of African Organisation for Standardization (ARSO) is spearheading and actively  involved in the harmonisation of a number of African pharmaceutical standards.

“This includes ARSO/TC 78 for medical devices and equipment, TC 80 on pharmaceutical and medical products and TC 82 on African Traditional Medicine.

“In line with the World Health Organization (WHO) Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023 aimed at building the knowledge base and formulating national policies, SON in collaboration with the ARSO has developed over 10 standards on African Traditional Medicine for use in Nigeria,” he said.

The SON boss noted that in spite of the great potentials of the pharmaceutical industry in Africa, only 3% of medicines are locally products in Africa.

He said that the objective of the Nigeria Pharmaceutical Industry to provide 60% of pharmaceutical products consumed by West African countries was largely dependent on regulatory requirements, required by their marketing authorisation.

“Given the wide range scope of the pharmacy profession which includes the synthesis, efficacy testing, formulation, manufacturing, dispensing, clinical assessment of drugs as well as handling, you can no doubt begin to see the relevance of standards in the pharmacy profession.

“In order to effectively deliver on its mandate and promote the required standards to ensure the safety of goods and services in the country and conformity with international requirements for trade, SON follows a well-planned procedure for establishing standards.”