The scarcity of qualified pharmacists in Uganda is constraining the growth of ventures in the health sector in Uganda and African continent in general.

The Secretary of the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda (PSU), Opio Samuel says that Uganda produces 60 pharmacists per year; against the 4,000 desired every year.

He says that lack of enough pharmacists puts Uganda in a critical health position. Uganda has a pharmacist to patients’ ration of 1:100,000; against the 1:1,000 recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Opio was speaking at a function in which Abacus Pharma, a regional distributor of pharmaceutical products in Uganda handed over 80 million shillings to PSU to support the organization’s Needy Pharmacy Students scheme.

He says that encouraging investors to join the health sector would avail facilities like modern teaching laboratories, industrial training centres as well as the reagents necessary to facilitate pharmacy courses at tertiary education levels.

Ultimate Media