Abuja, 19 September, 2022 – In December 2017, Oluwatayo Akingbile, then 20 years previous, understood the cruel implication of utilizing drugs and not using a prescription after dropping a buddy who thought he had malaria and had used an anti-malaria drug with out testing or prescription. 


 


“We have been college college students, and my buddy purchased the drug on the counter at a pharmacy, and after taking the medicine, he began complaining of bizarre sweating and belly discomfort. 

We rushed him to the college clinic, however they later transferred him to a tertiary well being facility due to the severity of his response to the drug. He by no means acquired higher as he died three days later,” he stated. 


 


Mr Akingbile stated he since understood the significance of getting examined and prescriptions from specialists earlier than utilizing any medicine. 


 


“I typically hear that medicine can have an antagonistic impact or result in demise when taken with out prescriptions, however I didn’t realize it was true till this occurred. It taught me a lesson, and I educate folks towards self-medication when opportune to,” he stated. 


 


Misuse/drug abuse 


 


Within the case of Stanley Okonkwo, utilizing some over-the-counter medicine has change into a pastime even when not ailing. 


 


“I purchase some over-the-counter medicine (ache aid) from hawkers throughout leisure (alcohol) ingesting as a result of folks do. I finished when a buddy educated me in regards to the dangerous results of medication on my physique, particularly my liver and kidney. I feel folks misuse medicine as a result of they don’t perceive the damaging results they’ll have on their well being,” he stated.  


 


A hawker who retails drugs at leisure parks in Abuja, Abdullai Garko, stated he doesn’t know the composition of the medicine however sells it as a result of it’s a profitable enterprise. 


 


He stated I don’t promote all drugs, solely pain-relieving medicine and a few medicine in excessive demand. I have no idea if utilizing medicine with out getting prescriptions from specialists could cause hurt.  


 


Remedy with out hurt 


 


In accordance with the World Well being Group (WHO), medicine hurt accounts for 50% of the general preventable hurt in medical care.

To acknowledge the substantial burden and acknowledge the complexity of medication-related hurt prevention and discount, “Remedy Security” has been chosen because the theme for World Affected person Security Day 2022.

World Affected person Security Day takes place yearly on September 17 to boost consciousness and drive worldwide intervention for the security of sufferers.

 As regards the issue, this 12 months’s Affected person Security Day marketing campaign is envisaged to supply the wanted push to consolidate the efforts of the present WHO International Affected person Security Problem: Remedy With out Hurt, emphasizing the necessity to undertake a methods method and promote protected medicine practices to stop medicine errors and cut back medication-related hurt.

Detrimental use 

Buttressing the significance of lowering medicine hurt, a pharmacist in Abuja, Chidi Lawrence, warns of the grave risks of utilizing medicine with out medical doctors’ prescriptions and never buying from licensed pharmaceutical retailers.

Mr Lawrence stated the probability of individuals misusing pharmacotherapy to the extent it causes well being hazard is excessive.

“As such, there’s a want for constant sensitization to enlighten them in regards to the hurt within the misuse/abuse of medication. Inappropriately used drugs could be toxic and trigger aspect or antagonistic results. Drug misuse trigger it to lose its therapeutic worth and trigger hurt to the physique or result in drug resistance and never work when wanted. 

Medicine must be purchased with prescriptions from specialists, sufferers ought to know the implication of utilizing the medicine and all prescription lists must be retrieved from sufferers to discourage them from reusing or abusing medicine.  There’s a have to strengthen the medicine system from prescribing, shelling out, utilization and monitoring drug use to cut back the hazards brought on by unsuitable medicine,” he stated. 

Moreover, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, in her message to mark the 2022 World Affected person Security Day, stated international estimates present that medicine errors contribute to over 3 million deaths yearly.


 


She stated whereas there’s restricted knowledge for Africa, the continent has a excessive magnitude of unsafe medicine practices. 

 “Amongst low- and middle-income international locations, the African Area has the very best prevalence of substandard and counterfeit medicines. Administration of surplus medicine at dwelling, the acquisition of medicine from pharmacies on the recommendation of associates and family reasonably than educated professionals, and the usage of previous prescriptions to purchase medicine to deal with a present ailment are all widespread practices that must be averted. 

In the meantime, WHO is working with the Member States to implement the WHO International Affected person Security Motion Plan 2021–2030, and a regional affected person security technique and highway map are at present being developed to information its implementation. 

Technical Contacts:

Dr Vivas Claudia; E mail: vivasc [at] who.int


Dr Joseph Martins; E mail: mjoseph [at] who.int