By Folasade Akpan
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has presented its Community Pharmacists Assessment and Career Progression Institute (CPACPI) framework at the 84th International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) World Congress in Montreal, Canada.
The association said the initiative sought to address the absence of a clear, competency-based career progression pathway for pharmacists practising in community settings.
A statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday night said the framework was presented during the four-day congress held from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2.
The congress had as its theme: “One Health, One Pharmacy: Bridging Science, Practice and Education.”
According to the statement, the presentation, delivered by ACPN National Chairman, Mr Ambrose Ezeh, placed Nigeria’s community pharmacy reform efforts within global discussions on pharmacy practice, healthcare delivery and workforce development.
It said CPACPI was introduced by ACPN in 2025 as a structured platform for assessing and advancing the careers of community pharmacists.
“Our mission through CPACPI is not merely to create an academic milestone, but to build a resilient, sustainable workforce capable of delivering world-class primary healthcare,” Ezeh said.
The statement noted that a study presented alongside the framework, involving 182 practising community pharmacists across Nigeria, identified workload pressures, limited practice time and high training and certification costs as major barriers to career advancement.
It added that weak regulatory enforcement emerged as the most significant systemic threat to community pharmacy practice, while illegal medicine outlets and increasing competition from patent medicine vendors were also major concerns.
According to the findings, more than three-fifths of respondents said daily practice demands limited their consistent participation in career advancement programmes.
The study also found that younger and mid-career pharmacists with fewer than 20 years of experience were significantly more concerned about the financial burden of professional development than their senior counterparts.
The statement said ACPN had incorporated solutions into CPACPI, including tiered subsidised professional development grants for younger pharmacists and flexible, self-paced digital learning modules.
Ezeh also called for stronger multi-agency enforcement against illegal medicine outlets and unaccredited vendors to protect professional practice and improve patient safety.
He said that under CPACPI, community pharmacists would progress through five professional bands: Community Pharmacist, Senior Community Pharmacist, Specialist Community Pharmacist, Senior Specialist Community Pharmacist and Community Pharmacy Consultant.
The statement said advancement would be based on measurable competencies, including specialised clinical care, mentorship, digital health integration and continuous quality improvement.
Beyond career advancement, ACPN is advocating the recognition of accredited community pharmacies as private-sector primary healthcare facilities.
“There is a pressing need for government authorities, policymakers and national health agencies to identify and designate qualified community pharmacies as official primary healthcare providers in the private sector,” Ezeh said.
He said the formal integration of community pharmacies into the national primary healthcare system and health insurance scheme could expand access, improve patient outcomes and reduce pressure on overstretched public health facilities.
Ezeh added that the sustainability of the framework would require collaboration among regulatory agencies, professional bodies, policymakers and other stakeholders.
“The long-term success of the CPACPI framework rests on our collective ability to bridge the gap between policy design and real-world execution,” he said.
He identified regulatory support, financial accessibility, reduced workload barriers and stronger enforcement of market standards as critical to achieving lasting results from the initiative.(NAN)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru