Key Role of Drug Shops and Pharmacies for Family Planning in Urban Nigeria and Kenya

Abstract

Pharmacies and drug shops provide a rich opportunity for expanding family planning access to urban women, especially unmarried and younger women. In urban Nigeria and Kenya, drug shops and pharmacies were the major sources for most short-acting methods, including oral contraceptive pills, emergency contraceptives, and condoms.

Characterization and Distribution of Medicine Vendors in Nigeria: A study of Lagos and Kaduna States.

“…This suggests the rise of vendors who may be able to deliver high-quality health services and complement the existing healthcare infrastructure [17] due to their formal training and previous experience (some being retired providers who worked at public/private health facilities across the country). The ndings from this study show a signi cant relationship between health training of vendors and stocking of some FP commodities (especially Injectable contraceptives) with clients that patronize them for FP services every month (this supports ndings elsewhere in Nigeria and Africa that PPMVs already offer injectable contraception) and other services [27,34]. This supports the evidence that PPMVs can support the formal health systems as these are services that they can provide, because of their training and the recent task-shifting and task-sharing policy of the country.…”

Provision of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Community Pharmacies: A Cross-Sectional Assessment of Structures and Processes in Jos, Nigeria

“…Our findings with regards to sale of male condom being the most common SRH service rendered in community pharmacies agree with reports by Corroon et al that affirmed drug stores and community pharmacies in Nigeria and Kenya, as the major sources of oral contraceptive pills, emergency contraceptives and condoms [7]. This however, runs contrary to the body of evidence that suggests community pharmacies have the potential for extending roles beyond the sale of SRH products [5,[22][23][24][25].…”

“…Questions have been raised regarding the SRH contents of pharmacy curriculum worldwide; to adequately meet the training needs of pharmacists for evidence based pharmaceutical ally in developing countries like Nigeria, where the subject of sex still remains a This finding corroborates report of Schwandt et al [21], who surveyed health workers in six Nigerian cities. The authors found providers with lower health related education and training (community health extension workers) were more likely to exhibit biases and restrict provision of contraceptive products and services to clients [7,21]. SRH education and counselling offered by untrained personnel, inadvertently affect outcomes, which in turn might hinder trust in the ability of community pharmacies to offer these services.…”

“…Consequently, community pharmacies are enabling more direct access to SRH commodities over-the-counter (OTC) or dispensed after evaluation by pharmacists [5]. Thus, pharmacies are providing expanded access to family planning especially for unmarried and younger women [6,7]. In developed countries like the United States of America and Canada, many contraceptive products including the hormonal agent levonorgestrel are approved for OTC emergency dispensing, requiring a pharmacist's prescription for insurance reimbursements [8,9].…”

“…Similarly, in the United Kingdom community pharmacists evaluate clients and supervise the sale of emergency contraceptive products [10]. Although Nigeria's Family Planning Blueprint (Scale-Up Plan) recognized community pharmacies as untapped private sector resources which can be utilized to increase the coverage of family planning service [11], the reality in Nigeria is neglect of the role of community pharmacies and drug stores in the provision of SRH services, despite these outlets being the major sources of contraceptive products [7,12].…”