Pharmacists at MLW have urged people to observe proper measures and instructions when dealing with drugs.
Clinical Trial Coordinator Pharmacist John Ndaferankhande made these remarks in an episode of Umoyo N’kukambirana radio programme in July when issues of drug resistance, drug use and the right ways of drugs were being discussed on the platform.
Ndaferankhande said drugs are crucial in dealing with illnesses, but their effectiveness can reduce drastically if not well handled.
“Clinical trial pharmacists have a role to manage Investigational Medicinal Products (IMP), where we look at all issues from ordering, shipment, storage, dispensing and disposal of IMP. The idea is to protect all participants by making sure all this is done safely and by standards as well as account for all the IMP being used in any clinical trial. Apart from being careful with the way we handle drugs and IMPs, it is also necessary to provide enough knowledge to the people who are receiving drug administration to avoid mishandling of drugs,” said Ndaferankhande.
The topics which the pharmacists discussed on Umoyo N’kukambirana included the roles of pharmacists, how drugs are made and how they work, issues of antimicrobial resistance and vaccine development with an aim of sharing knowledge of the proper usage and storage of medicines.
Commenting on the radio programme, one of the listeners from Mzuzu Stella Cadono thanked the group for the enlightening series. She sighted that she previously had a severe headache and took malaria drugs instead of going to the hospital for a medical examination. Stella says she believes that people will now develop good health-seeking behaviors based on the discussions.
Apart from using the radio as a medium to reach out to multitudes of people, MLW’s pharmacy team is also planning to shade light regarding the roles and accessibility of pharmacists in the safeguarding of public health through special days like World Pharmacist Day and the Antimicrobial Stewardship Week, which are coming up in September and November respectively.
