The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has taken Nigeria’s community pharmacy reform to the global stage with the presentation of its Community Pharmacists Assessment and Career Progression Institute (CPACPI) framework at the 84th FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Montreal, Canada.
The National Chairman of ACPN, Ambrose Igwekamma Ezeh, presented the framework between August 30 and September 2, 2026, placing Nigeria’s workforce development model at the centre of international discussions under the theme, “One Health, One Pharmacy – Bridging science, practice, and education.”
Speaking during the presentation, Ezeh said CPACPI, launched in 2025, was the first structured, competency-based career progression pathway for community pharmacists in Nigeria.
According to him, the initiative was designed to address a longstanding gap in the profession, particularly the absence of clear advancement opportunities for pharmacists working outside hospital and academic settings.
He said a study presented in Montreal, 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.
Ezeh said ACPN had incorporated measures into the framework to address the barriers identified by the study.
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Among the measures, he said, were tiered and subsidised professional development grants for younger pharmacists, as well as flexible, self-paced digital learning modules that would enable pharmacists to undergo training without disrupting patient care.
He also called for stronger multi-agency enforcement against unaccredited medicine outlets to protect professional standards and patient safety.
The ACPN national chairman explained that career advancement under the framework would be based on measurable competencies in areas including clinical care, mentorship, digital health integration and continuous quality improvement.
Beyond career progression, Ezeh said ACPN was advocating for accredited community pharmacies to be designated as private-sector primary healthcare facilities and integrated into Nigeria’s national health insurance system.
The association argued that such integration could expand access to healthcare, improve health outcomes and reduce pressure on overstretched public facilities.
Ezeh said the Nigerian model could also provide lessons for other low- and middle-income countries seeking to maximise the role of community pharmacists in primary healthcare, Universal Health Coverage and medicine safety.
“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.
“Researchers from CPACPI Lagos, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, found that more than three-fifths of respondents said daily practice demands limit participation in professional development.
“The study also revealed that younger and mid-career pharmacists with fewer than 20 years’ experience cited the financial burden of training and certification as a major concern. Weak enforcement against illegal medicine outlets and competition from patent medicine vendors were identified as the biggest systemic threats to professional practice.
Ezeh said, “At the core of CPACPI is a five-band progression ladder intended to end career stagnation in community practice. The bands are: Band 1: Community Pharmacist; Band 2: Senior Community Pharmacist; Band 3: Community Pharmacy Specialist; Band 4: Community Pharmacy Senior Specialist; and Band 5: Community Pharmacy Consultant.
“There is a pressing need for government authorities, policy-makers, and national health authorities to identify and designate qualified community pharmacies as official primary healthcare facility providers in the private sector,” Ezeh said, noting that pharmacies are often the most accessible point of care for millions of Nigerians.
“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.
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