Drug safety in Nigeria

Abstract

Medication safety, which is defined as the freedom from preventable harm with medication use, is a global public health concern and part of the primary mission of pharmacy practice. Medication safety issues negatively impact patient health outcomes including hospitalization, increased length of hospital stay, mortality, and overall health care costs. These issues are more profound in developing countries. In Nigeria, there are many issues and challenges related to medication safety culture among patients and health care professionals including underreporting of medication errors (MEs) and adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and beliefs in certain traditional norms. Currently, there are global concerted efforts and action plans geared toward patient safety in health care and minimizing preventable harm. This chapter discusses the status of medication safety issues in Nigeria, including, but not limited to, pharmacovigilance activities and ADR reporting, ME prevalence and reporting, self-medication practices, drug misuse and abuse, storage practices and disposal of pharmaceutical wastes, counterfeit medicines, safety issues related to the use of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicines, as well as research, education, and regulations governing these issues.