UCH to hold workshop on Pharmaceutical Care in Oncology Practice

The University College Hospital in conjunction with the Centre for Global Health, University of Chicago, USA is to hold a four-day workshop on pharmaceutical care in oncology practice.

The workshop, which will take place between Sunday, 24th March and Thursday 28th March, will be facilitated by Professor Olufumilayo Olopade from the Centre for Global Health, University of Chicago; Vice Chancellor, Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Professor Chinedum Babalola and Dr Sandeep Parsad from the University of Chicago.

Head of pharmacy department, UCH, Mrs Helen Oduntan, said in a press statement that the objectives of the workshop include improving quality of cancer management in Nigeria and developing professional competence of oncology pharmacists and radio-pharmacists.

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Other objectives include building capacity for global cancer management through reconstitution and compounding of parental cytotoxic medicines that meet current Good Manufacturing Practices alongside developing pharmacists’ participation in clinical trials.

It is also expected to connect pharmaceutical industries with pharmacists in hospitals, community and academia in order to improve cancer care.

According to Mrs Oduntan, cancer is rapidly becoming a global pandemic, killing more people than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and Malaria combined.

She added that low and middle income countries, including Nigeria shoulder most of the cancer burden, and so the necessity to build capacity of African healthcare providers to deliver better educational, diagnostic and treatment services to their patients.

Mrs Oduntan said increased involvement of healthcare providers in clinical trials is also imperative in evaluating the efficacy and safety of currently available cancer chemotherapy regimens in African patients and setting.