Activities of drug peddlers worrying

Asamankese (E/R), Sept. 29, GNA - The West Akyem District Chief Executive, Mr Kwabena Sintim-Aboagye on Thursday launched this year's national training programme for licensed chemical sellers at Asamankese and said the proliferation of drug sellers in the country was very worrying.

He observed that there were a large number of them on the streets, in moving vehicles, in remote villages and even in urban towns. In most cases, he noted that some people had lost their lives due to the activities of these "chemists", especially in the rural areas. Mr Sintim-Aboagye said, since it was difficult for a layman to differentiate between the licensed and unlicensed chemical sellers, it was imperative for the Pharmacy Council to undertake intensive public education on the characteristics and features to look out for in determining their genuineness or otherwise.

The DCE described as a "disturbing observation", reports that some service providers of the National Health Insurance Scheme directed card-bearing patients of the scheme to specific chemical shops to purchase prescribed drugs at exorbitant prices with the excuse that such drugs were not in stock at their facilities.

Such behaviour, he said, tended to bring the good name of chemical sellers and pharmacy houses into disrepute, as well as making the people to lose confidence in the health insurance scheme.

Mr Sintim-Aboagye cautioned those involved in that negative practice to put a stop it, since the scheme had come to stay.

He said government would also continue to ensure the provision of adequate security and resources for its success so that the ordinary man on the streets could have uninhibited access to quality health care. The DCE hoped that by the end of the training, chemical sellers would use the knowledge and skills acquired to improve upon the quality of their services to their clients to ensure healthy people in a healthy country.

On drug abuse, he noted that parents as well as school authorities had the responsibility of educating and guiding the younger generation so that they did not fall prey to such negative tendencies. Sept. 29, 2006