Pharmacists have been told to do their best in their careers to make the health sector better for Nigerians.
This advice was given by Dr Ajoritsedere Awosika at the second Ladipo Mobolaji Abisogun-Afodu annual lecture in pharmacy held at the Old Great Hall of the College of Medicine, Idi-Araba.
Speaking on the topic, “Enhancing the role of pharmacists in public health in Nigeria,” Dr Awosika, the former National Coordinator, National Programme on Immunisation (NPI), said pharmacists should not be content with just dispensing drugs but willing to work with other professionals in the health sector to deliver results.
Dr Awosika shared stories of her career and how she went beyond the call of duty to save lives and promote good policies to demonstrate how the modern-day pharmacist should work.
“Pharmacy is a dynamic, growing, and increasingly diverse profession, one which creates an excitement on the account of the many opportunities. Investing in the development of an adaptable, flexible, competent and well-distributed pharmaceutical workforce will contribute towards achieving the Universal Health Coverage (UHC), and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and strengthening health systems.
“Pharmacists are therefore at a zenith in the global effort to manage, cure and prevent diseases. Any functional and operational public health system requires human resources to promote the health and well-being of the target beneficiaries,” she said.
The lecture was endowed by the late Mrs Abimbola Omolulu-Mulele for N36milion in memory of her pharmacist father, Ladipo Mobolaji Abisogun-Afodu, who died in the Second World War.
Mrs Abimbola Omololu-Mulele, the first woman in Nigeria to study law and founder of ADRAO International School, also endowed another N36 million for the Abimbola Omololu-Mulele Memorial lecture in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at UNILAG.
In his speech, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, represented by Prof Wale Okunnuga, Director, Academic Planning, praised the late Mrs Omolulu-Mulele, for her generosity, which he described as uncommon. He urged Nigerians to emulate her and invest in education.
“In the light of the above gesture and disposition, it is imperative to call on all Nigerians to support education and research with their charitable bequethals, however small. This is one of the easiest and best ways to provide critical support for the university’s teaching and research activities in the face of dwindling government funding of our tertiary institutions,” he said.