The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) at a news conference in Ilorin yesterday blamed the current cholera epidemic in many parts of the country on consumption of sachet (pure) water.
Speaking on the 86th national conference of the PSN, tagged, “Harmony 2013” in Ilorin, Kwara State chairman of the association, Chief Abdulmojeed Oderinde, said consumption of sachet water is unhygienic, and urged government officials to ensure that potable water is available for the people.
Oderinde, who placed access to potable water above food, also identified other causes of cholera as poverty, overpopulation and unhygienic environment.
He further condemned salary disparity among health workers in the state, saying a situation where a medical doctor earns N180, 000 monthly while a pharmacist gets N45,000 is discouraging.
According to him, out of a total 150 pharmacists in the state, only a few are employed in the state’s health sector, stressing that the development had led many qualified pharmacists to practise outside the state. He also said that out of 16,000 pharmacists in the country, 5,000 practise outside Nigeria, adding that there is an average of one pharmacist to about 10,000 people.
