Ensuring medicine safety in Nigeria with E-Pharmacy policy
Nigeria’s health system continues to face persistent challenges, including high out-of-pocket expenditure, uneven access to essential medicines, workforce shortages, and limited availability of family planning services, affecting millions across urban and rural communities.
Rapid growth in mobile connectivity, digital payments, and e-commerce has reshaped service delivery across sectors, offering new opportunities for Nigerians to access healthcare and bridging gaps in distribution, efficiency, and convenience for pharmaceutical services.
The launch of Nigeria’s National Electronic Pharmacy Policy (NEPP) marks a decisive transition in pharmaceutical service delivery, providing a formal regulatory framework for e-pharmacy and hybrid digital platforms across the nation.
For the first time, Nigeria now has a unified policy governing licensing, dispensing standards, data protection, advertising, and professional accountability for digital pharmacy services, setting clear standards for operators and consumers alike.
This policy formally integrates e-pharmacy into Nigeria’s broader health system, positioning digital platforms as complementary, regulated options to physical pharmacies, rather than informal or unlicensed markets, improving service reliability and accountability.
Within this framework, e-pharmacy offers the government and patients a practical mechanism to increase convenience, confidentiality, and access to essential medicines, particularly for underserved populations in remote and urban communities nationwide.
At the official inauguration, health sector stakeholders emphasised that NEPP would strengthen prescription governance, improve medicine traceability, and leverage private-sector capacity to support public health objectives while expanding safe pharmaceutical access.
The policy also ensures licensed pharmaceutical services extend beyond physical locations, providing regulatory guardrails to protect consumers, enhance service reliability, and enable scalable, safe delivery of essential medicines throughout Nigeria.
Speaking at the event, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, said NEPP would regulate pharmaceutical production and sales while enabling Nigerians to access safe, quality-assured medicines in every part of the country.
Represented by the Director of Food and Drug Services, Olubumi Aribeana, Pate explained that NEPP modernised healthcare delivery, ensuring all Nigerians, including those in rural or hard-to-reach areas, could access affordable and quality pharmaceutical products.
He noted that in spite of digital expansion, the pharmaceutical sector remained fragmented, with minimal oversight of online medicine sales, leaving gaps that allowed unlicensed vendors, counterfeit drugs, and misinformation to threaten public health.
Pate explained that the uncontrolled access to medicines online had created dangerous gaps, exposing citizens to substandard drugs, unlicensed vendors, and public health misinformation, making NEPP a critical safeguard for patients.
“Today marks a bold step forward to modernise healthcare delivery and guarantee that every Nigerian has access to safe, affordable, quality-assured medicines, regardless of their location or social circumstance.
“The NEPP provides a clear, enforceable framework for regulating electronic pharmacy services, ensuring innovation in the sector does not compromise patient safety or undermine professional accountability across the pharmaceutical value chain.
“With this policy, we are establishing a nationally coordinated, transparent, secure, and patient-centered e-pharmacy ecosystem that integrates digital innovation with established health systems and standards across Nigeria,” Pate emphasised.
NEPP establishes licensing and accreditation requirements for digital platforms, enables real-time monitoring and traceability of pharmaceutical products, and expands access to essential medicines for underserved, remote, and hard-to-reach populations nationwide.
The Minister said the policy strengthens accountability across the pharmaceutical value chain and represents extensive collaboration with stakeholders, reflecting a unified effort to improve regulatory governance and digital health infrastructure in Nigeria.
He commended all contributors who played key roles in developing digital governance, data protection, and operational frameworks underpinning NEPP, highlighting the policy as a product of strategic, multi-agency cooperation and consultation.
Ibrahim-Babashehu Ahmed, Registrar and CEO of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), said NEPP provides strategic regulatory guidance, with PCN as the primary implementing agency, ensuring compliance and proper supervision of e-pharmacy operations nationwide.
Ahmed added that the policy, approved by the Coordinating Minister of Health and endorsed by the Minister of Justice, defines enforceable regulations while warning operators against non-compliance with national standards.
He expressed confidence that the policy would encounter minimal implementation challenges, given strong institutional support, clear guidelines, and alignment with national health priorities, promoting safer medicine access for all Nigerians.
Munir Elelu, Director and team lead for the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria Foundation, described NEPP as an innovative initiative that integrates primary healthcare, family planning, and community-level pharmaceutical access for underserved populations.
Elelu noted that evidence gathered before the policy’s adoption shows that Nigeria’s e-pharmacy market is already emerging, making formal regulation essential to ensure safe, equitable, and coordinated growth of digital pharmacy services.
“A substantial number of women of reproductive age are willing to use digital channels for essential health products once barriers are addressed, demonstrating that regulated e-pharmacy demand is real and growing rapidly,” he said.
Dr Usman Abdulrahman, Consultant Physician and member of the Nigerian Infectious Diseases Society (NIDS), called NEPP a hopeful step for Nigeria, directly addressing everyday challenges many face accessing licensed, safe pharmaceutical products.
He explained that for families outside major cities, reaching a licensed pharmacy could be costly, stressful, or impossible, and that NEPP promises wider access, convenience, and protection from counterfeit medicines that endanger lives.
Abdulrahman added that NEPP provides pharmacists and health-tech innovators with a safer, regulated space to operate, encouraging professional practice, trust, and growth in Nigeria’s digital health sector.
“This policy also brings understandable concerns for small, informal drug sellers and community pharmacies, who may feel threatened by compliance costs, new technology requirements, and stricter regulatory oversight,” he said.
He also highlighted that poor internet connectivity, weak logistics, and low digital literacy in some regions might initially favour urban populations, and uneven enforcement could push some online activities further underground.
“In human terms, NEPP is not just a policy; it tests how Nigeria balances safety with compassion, progress with inclusion, and regulation with empathy for all participants in the health system,” Abdulrahman emphasised.
He said that with thoughtful implementation, training, and support, NEPP could save lives and strengthen trust in healthcare delivery, while poor enforcement could inadvertently worsen inequalities in spite of its good intentions.
Dr Adewale-Adeleye Premiere, President of the Association of Resident Doctors at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, praised NEPP for addressing antimicrobial resistance and curbing fake or misused medicines in the system.
Premiere said that widespread abuse of antibiotics and other drugs has created serious health risks, stressing that regulating sales by unlicensed vendors is critical to improving patient safety nationwide.
He added that many Nigerians attempt to self-medicate without understanding pharmaceutical protocols, emphasising that NEPP would reduce misuse, safeguard health, and improve adherence to safe, professional medicine practices.
“We are seeing a rise in kidney failure and other diseases linked to substandard drugs. If NEPP addresses these issues, resident doctors will fully support the policy and its objectives,” Premiere said.
David Adeyemi, CEO and founder of Pharmachain Technologies and a policy contributor, noted that prior policies often failed due to weak implementation, but NEPP is designed to overcome such challenges and improve healthcare outcomes.
Adeyemi explained that Nigerians often rely on unregulated online platforms for medicines, unaware of which services are approved, and NEPP will clearly identify government-endorsed platforms to ensure safety and authenticity.
“With official emblems and regulated platforms, consumers will know which sites are licensed, reducing the reliance on unapproved or unsafe sources and ensuring access to quality medicines nationwide,” Adeyemi said.
He emphasised that NEPP fostersed accountability, transparency, and equitable access, guiding pharmacists, consumers, and innovators while promoting a coordinated e-pharmacy ecosystem across Nigeria.
The policy aims to modernise the pharmaceutical sector, protect consumers, ensure equitable access to affordable, quality-assured medicines, and safely integrate digital health innovation into Nigeria’s broader health system.
NEPP strengthens regulatory oversight, supports digital literacy, promotes professional standards, and enhances logistics to ensure medicines reach remote areas, reducing counterfeit drugs while improving safety and healthcare efficiency.
Stakeholders expressed optimism that NEPP will reduce substandard medicines, improve adherence to prescriptions, enhance patient safety, and position Nigeria as a leader in regulated digital pharmacy in Africa.
With NEPP, Nigerians can expect safer access to essential medicines, stronger pharmaceutical governance, and regulated e-pharmacy platforms that bridge the gap between innovation, inclusion, and public health protection nationwide.
Source: By Aderogba George, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
