ACPN Takes Nigeria’s Community Pharmacy Leadership To Global Stage With CPACPI Blueprint

KINGSLEY EBERE 

From pioneering a career progression institute in 2025 to presenting at the FIP Congress, Nigeria charts a new course for community pharmacy practice. 

The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria has taken its reform of community pharmacy practice to the global stage, unveiling its Community Pharmacists Assessment and Career Progression Institute framework at the 84th FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Montreal, Canada.

The presentation was delivered by ACPN National Chairman, Pharm. Ambrose Igwekamma Ezeh, and places Nigeria’s community pharmacy reforms at the centre of international discussions on the future of the profession.

ACPN introduced CPACPI in 2025 as a structured platform to assess and advance the careers of community pharmacists. The initiative was created to address the absence of a clear, competency-based career pathway for pharmacists in community practice.

A year later, the association presented the framework and supporting research at the FIP Congress held from August 30 to September 2, 2026, under the theme “One Health, One Pharmacy – Bridging science, practice, and education.” The four-day congress brought together pharmacists, scientists, educators and healthcare leaders from around the world to discuss trends in pharmacy practice, education and workforce development.

Speaking at the session, Pharm. Ezeh said CPACPI was designed to build a resilient and sustainable workforce for primary healthcare delivery, not just as an academic exercise. He noted the initiative responds to real challenges such as workload pressures, regulatory gaps, financial constraints and limited opportunities for career growth.

A study presented at the congress titled “The Implementation Gap: Perceived Barriers and External Threats to Community Pharmacists’ Participation in a Career Advancement Scheme in Nigeria” surveyed 182 practising community pharmacists across the country. The research was conducted by Iyeseun Asieba, Abdulmuminu Isah, Faith Ehi, Ngozi Udem, Kowam Raji, Charles Oluwaseyi and Chukwuemeka Ubaka, with support from CPACPI Lagos, University of Nigeria Nsukka and UNTH Enugu.

Findings showed that workload, limited practice time and the cost of training are major barriers to participation. Weak regulatory enforcement was identified as the biggest systemic threat, with illegal medicine outlets and competition from patent medicine vendors also highlighted. More than 60 percent of respondents said daily practice demands limit consistent engagement in professional development. Younger and mid-career pharmacists with fewer than 20 years experience expressed greater concern about financial burden.

In response, ACPN has built targeted solutions into CPACPI. The association will introduce tiered, subsidised professional development grants for younger pharmacists and deploy flexible, self-paced digital learning modules to allow practitioners to upskill without disrupting patient care. Pharm. Ezeh also called for stronger multi-agency enforcement against illegal outlets and unaccredited vendors to safeguard professional practice and patient safety.

At the core of CPACPI is a five-band career progression structure. Pharmacists can advance from Band 1 Community Pharmacist to Band 5 Community Pharmacy Consultant based on measurable competencies in clinical care, mentorship, digital health and quality improvement. The goal is to replace career stagnation with a transparent, merit-based system.

Beyond career progression, ACPN is advocating for accredited community pharmacies to be recognised as private-sector primary healthcare facilities. Pharm. Ezeh said qualified community pharmacies should be formally integrated into the national primary healthcare and health insurance systems because they are among the most accessible points of care for millions of Nigerians. He argued this would expand access, improve outcomes and reduce pressure on public facilities.

The CPACPI model has now grown from an internal development programme into a broader healthcare reform proposal with implications for workforce development, primary healthcare, Universal Health Coverage and medicine safety. Its presentation at FIP also showed that solutions to workforce challenges can emerge from developing countries and offer lessons for other health systems.

Pharm. Ezeh said the long-term success of CPACPI will depend on collaboration among regulators, professional bodies and policymakers. He stressed that regulatory support, financial access, reduced workload barriers and stronger market enforcement will be key to sustaining the framework.

From its launch in Nigeria in 2025 to its international debut in 2026, CPACPI represents ACPN’s effort to redefine the role of community pharmacists, measure and reward professional excellence, and position community pharmacies as essential parts of a modern primary healthcare system.