“One in 10 patients leaves hospital with new infection”

The immediate-past President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Ahmed Yakasai, has said there is need for a concerted drive to tackle the prevalence of infections and improve healthcare delivery services across the country.

He said research has shown that one out of every 10 patients who visited hospital for treatment is harmed with new infection.

Yakasai, who is the Chairman of Safe Medicine Foundation, spoke in Lagos at the launching of Pyodine (Providone-iodine) by Pharmaplus Nigeria Limited and Brookes Pharma, a Pakistani pharmaceutical company.

According to him, there is the need to guarantee the safety of not only the patients but the doctors, pharmacists and all healthcare professionals.

He said the Pyodine product ranges containing Providone-iodine which was adopted as the gold standard for antiseptic by World Health Organization since 1992 “will be a great addition to the wound care management as well as prevention and treatment of skin infection and oral hygiene in the country.”

He said Nigeria has a long way to go in strengthening its healthcare system, saying his firm entered into partnership with Brookes, one of the five top Pakistani pharmaceutical firms, as his contribution to improving the healthcare.

Yakasai, who is also the Founder/Chairman of Pharmaplus, said, “A myriad of families had lost their loved ones due to wound complications and nosocomial infection. WHO estimates show that in developed countries, as many as one in 10 patients is harmed while receiving hospital care.

“Of every 100 hospitalised patients at any given time, 7 in developed and 10 in developing countries will acquire health care-associated infections. Hundreds of millions of patients are affected by this worldwide each year”.

In his remarks at the event, the High Commissioner of Pakistan to Nigeria, Major Gen. Waqar Ahmad Kingravi, said Nigeria is the most important country in Africa, adding that Pakistan is poised to make Nigeria as a launch-pad to other West African countries.

He said, “Pakistan has a very dynamic and vibrant health industry which includes more than 700 licensed manufacturers of pharmaceutical sector. The strict regulatory regime, compliance of international obligations, collaboration with international research-based pharmaceutical organizations in innovation and R&D are the hallmarks of the industry.”