As part of efforts to improve health care delivery, Alpha Specialties is providing quality medical equipment to health facilities across the country.
At the recent premier healthcare trade platform, Medic West Africa brought together over 200 exhibitors from more than 32 countries to showcase the latest technologies across the medical, pharmaceutical and laboratory industries.
Chimezie Obiwulu, a pharmacist and team lead of Alpha Specialties said the organisation’s mission is to ensure good healthcare gets to the grassroots.
“We are changing the narrative by providing healthcare facilities with localised and standard technology at affordable rates. We have also realised equipment maintenance is a challenge for most facilities hence we provide end-users with maintenance and training,” he said.
Alpha Specialties, a sub-set of Alpha Pharmacy and a leading provider of medical equipment in Nigeria was in attendance to showcase its best products and services.
Alpha Pharmacy has been in existence for over 33years and now runs a three-prong business; retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical distribution and more recently, Alpha Specialties, in partnership with GE Healthcare and Tuttnauer.
Speaking on challenges in the healthcare sector, Chimezie said that “Counterfeit drugs are a scourge in Nigeria. This can be attributed to laws that are not being enforced in addition to other factors. To curb this menace, the mass orientation of the general public on where to purchase quality medications is essential.
“Nigerians must be educated on how to identify accredited pharmacies and should be encouraged to purchase drugs from licensed pharmacists only,” he said.
Chimezie further said that technology should also be leveraged to address this problem stating that the mobile authentication service (MAS) used to verify the authenticity of some drugs should extend to all drugs. Furthermore, laws guiding drug distribution should be strictly enforced and adhered to by all parties involved.
“Self-medication, another prevalent issue among Nigerians needs to be addressed urgently. People need to be educated on the dangers of self-medication. Self-medication can cause drug resistance which can potentially lead to death.
“Stakeholders including pharmaceutical bodies, regulatory bodies, government, and pharmacists are required to come together to educate the general populace on this issue,” he said.
Alpha Pharmacy is the foremost supplier of anaesthesia agents, fertility hormones and rare ethical products for each medical sub-specialty. The goal is to impact the lives of every Nigerian by providing quality solutions across healthcare.
ANTHONIA OBOKOH
