Essay Winner Raises Alarm Over Medication Errors in Nigeria

…. Calls for Greater Role for Pharmacists

By Usman David

The winner of the 2026 World Pharmacists Day essay competition at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Department of Pharmacy, Falola Dorcas Ayomikun, has raised concerns over medication-related risks, particularly the consequences of inappropriate dosing among vulnerable patients in Nigeria.

Ayomikun made the submission in her winning essay titled, “Beyond Dispensing—Unlocking the Full Potential of Pharmacists for a Healthier Future,” organized as part of activities marking the 2026 World Pharmacists Day at the UCH Department of Pharmacy.

The competition was organized by the UCH Pharmacy 2026 World Pharmacists Day Committee, headed by the Acting Head of Department, Dr. Mrs. Olubukola Olumide, to commemorate the annual event.

The essay topic was drawn from this year’s World Pharmacists Day theme, “Empowering Pharmacists for a Healthier Future,” and examined how pharmacists could play a more integrated role in improving medication safety and healthcare outcomes.

In the essay, Ayomikun reflected on the devastating consequences that can arise when medicines are administered to vulnerable patients, noting that a recent child death during a medical procedure in Lagos had drawn public attention to the need for precision, vigilance and adequate safeguards in medication administration.

She, however, stressed that the circumstances surrounding the incident remained subject to investigation, saying her discussion was not intended to pass judgment on what happened.

“A dose is not merely a number. A drug is not merely a product. Behind every milligram lies a clinical decision. Behind every clinical decision lies a human life,” she wrote.

According to her, pharmacists should no longer be viewed merely as professionals at the end of the healthcare chain who receive prescriptions, dispense medicines and explain their use.

She argued that medication safety also depends on appropriate drug selection, accurate dosing, administration, monitoring and follow-up, areas in which pharmacists possess specialized expertise that can help prevent medication-related harm.

Ayomikun cited a national survey of 272 Nigerian public-sector hospitals, which she said found that fewer than one-third routinely involved pharmacists in multidisciplinary ward rounds, medication-chart reviews or antibiotic stewardship programmes.

She also referenced a 2025 study conducted in a Nigerian tertiary hospital, saying clinical pharmacists identified 986 drug therapy problems and made 851 recommendations to prescribers, of which 847 were accepted, representing a reported 99.5 per cent acceptance rate.

She noted, however, that the study also identified weaknesses in the documentation of pharmacists’ interventions, stressing the need to institutionalize and measure pharmacists’ contributions to patient care.

The essay winner further called for greater investment in competency-based education, continuous professional development, digital infrastructure and research to prepare pharmacists for emerging areas such as pharmacogenomics, artificial intelligence and digital medicine.

She said technology should complement, rather than replace, professional judgment, noting that while an algorithm could flag a possible drug interaction, a pharmacist would still need to determine its clinical significance in the context of an individual patient.

Ayomikun concluded that unlocking the full potential of pharmacists was ultimately about improving healthcare outcomes, urging stakeholders to move beyond measuring pharmacists by the medicines

 they dispense and instead assess their contribution to medication safety, disease prevention, clinical decision-making and the overall health of patients.