Pharmacy Board Ends Training in Bong County

The Pharmacy Board of Liberia has ended one-day training for more than 80 proprietors and dispensers of pharmacies in Bong County. The training was intended to keep the pharmacists abreast of basic rules and regulations governing the operation of drug stores and pharmacies in the country.

At the close of the exercise over the weekend, the Administrator of the Pharmacy Board of Liberia Ernest Gray underscored the importance of the training and commended the participants for the patience they demonstrated during the session. He assured them that the Board remains committed to creating the necessary environment that would enhance their business.

Gray said while the Board was striving to halt the sale of drugs in the open and remove peddlers from the streets, operators and proprietors of drug stores should learn how to improve their facilities which will enable them to attract more customers.

He disclosed that the Pharmacy Board will constitute a task force that will get peddlers off the streets, adding that those selling pharmaceutical products in plastic bags and buckets are selling poison to the public as the result many people purchasing street drugs suffer further medical problems rather healing.

He disclosed that the government of Liberia has donated two brand new vehicles which according to him will enable them monitor the operation of drug stores across the country and effectively execute other duties.

The administrator admonished drug store owners to register with the government to legitimize their businesses and specifically directed them to register with the Ministry of Finance before proceeding to the Pharmacy Board of Liberia. He threatened to close down drug stores that do not meet up with the standard set by the Board to offer public services.

He emphasized that there are rules and regulations governing the operation of drug stores and pharmacies so anyone wanting to venture in the business should meet guidelines set by the Pharmacy Board of Liberia.

According to Gray, before anyone opens a pharmacy or drug store, the building or room being used must have certain height and width to help preserve drugs being sold to the public, saying quality and ventilation are very important. He said the Pharmacy Board of Liberia will open a sub-office in the county as soon as the number of registered drug stores increases.

“Currently, we have office in Nimba County and those there do not have to go to Monrovia to do their registration; they do it right there, so if you can mobilize to have the same number we have here we can open an office here in Gbarnga”, he told the participants.

Participants, who attended the training from almost all parts of Bong County, commended the Board and urged the institution to continue such exercise to enable them understand its functions.

They said the frequency of such training program will make drug store owners and operators to take innovative approaches in discussing the danger of selling drugs in the streets.