The Kano State Government has banned the administration of Intravenous (IV) fluids, blood transfusion and other invasive medical procedures by Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors, PPMVs, popularly known as patent medicine stores across the state.
The ban, announced on Tuesday by the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, is part of sweeping reforms aimed at curbing quackery, preventing avoidable deaths and sanitizing the health sector in the state.
Addressing journalists after a joint enforcement meeting with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, PCN and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, the Commissioner said the government can no longer tolerate the dangerous trend where untrained vendors administer IV drips and transfuse blood in shops without basic hygiene, storage facilities or medical supervision.
“It has come to our attention with grave concern that many patent medicine stores have gone beyond their approved scope and are now administering intravenous fluids, giving injections, conducting blood transfusions and even performing minor surgeries,” Dr. Labaran said.
“This is illegal, dangerous and is costing lives. Patent medicine stores are only licensed to sell over-the-counter drugs in their original packs. They are not clinics, they are not hospitals.”
He explained that investigations by the State Task Force on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs revealed that improper storage of IV fluids and unsafe transfusion practices in patent stores had led to several cases of infection, shock and fatalities, particularly in rural areas where residents patronize the stores as first point of care.
According to him, only licensed private hospitals, clinics and government health facilities with qualified medical personnel are authorized by law to administer IV fluids and blood transfusion.
The Commissioner warned that any patent medicine vendor caught violating the directive would have his or her shop sealed, goods confiscated and the operator prosecuted under the relevant health laws of the state.
He added that the enforcement would commence immediately across the 44 Local Government Areas, with joint inspection teams from the Ministry of Health, PCN and the State Private Health Institutions Management Agency, PHIMA, to monitor compliance.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the National Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers, NAPPMED, Kano State Chapter, Alhaji Sani Musa Gwarzo, said the association would sensitize its members on the new directive, but appealed to the government to increase access to primary healthcare centres in underserved communities to reduce pressure on patent stores.
Residents who spoke with our correspondent welcomed the ban, describing it as long overdue, while urging the government to also clamp down on illegal maternity homes and unlicensed laboratories operating in residential areas.
