Members of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria have been advised to as a matter of urgency, to develop local medicines that would compete with the orthodox ones, to improve healthcare services in the Country.

The Kwara State Governor, North Central Nigeria, Alhaji AbdulFatah Ahmed, gave the advice when the leadership of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, paid him a courtesy call at the Government House, Ilorin.

Locally made drugs

Governor Ahmed stressed the need for all stakeholders in drug production to incorporate, refine and produce locally made drugs, saying that the earlier they imbibe the culture of improving local herbs the better for the Country.

He urged the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria to blacklist countries involved in the production of fake drugs and their importers.

The Governor said his administration had been working to provide the people of the State with affordable healthcare services that are available within a five hundred meter radius, especially in the rural areas.

Hospital renovation

Governor Ahmed said the current renovation of the five General Hospitals in the State was part of government's determination to reposition the health sector, adding that another five General Hospitals would be re-modeled to complement the existing ones.

The State Chairman of PSN, AbdulMajeed Oderinde said their visit to the State was to inform the Governor of the National Conference of the Society coming up between the fourth and eighth of November this year in Ilorin, the State capital. The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria later conferred the Governor with the title of Grand Patron.