The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has renewed calls for urgent government action to curb the country’s rising snakebite fatalities, demanding free access to antivenom drugs and the establishment of local manufacturing facilities.
The appeal follows the death of an Abuja based singer, Ifunanya Nwangene, a tragedy the ACPN described as a painful reminder of Nigeria’s fragile emergency healthcare system. National Chairman, Pharm. Ambrose Igwekammah Eze, expressed condolences to her family, stressing that no Nigerian should die from a preventable condition.
According to the association, Nigeria records over 20,000 snakebite cases yearly, with about 2,000 deaths and nearly 1,700 survivors left with permanent disabilities such as amputations.
The crisis, Eze noted, hits rural communities hardest where farmers, herders, women and children who often lack quick access to care and cannot afford treatment.
While antivenoms are listed on Nigeria’s Essential Medicines List, ACPN argues that stock-outs, high costs and referral delays continue to cost lives. The group is urging the Federal Government to invest about $12 million in a local antivenom production plant, roughly what Nigeria already spends annually on imports, to end dependence on donors and foreign suppliers.
The association also called for full coverage of antivenom treatment under the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), noting that the average ₦40,000 cost remains beyond the reach of most rural families.
Beyond funding, ACPN criticised administrative disruptions affecting Drug Revolving Funds in public hospitals, which it says contribute to frequent shortages of life saving medicines. It further recommended expanding snakebite treatment to primary healthcare centres, partnering with traditional leaders for early referrals and intensifying public education to discourage harmful practices that delay hospital care.
Eze concluded by urging the government to declare snakebite envenoming a National Health Priority and a Neglected Tropical Disease, insisting that with political will and smart investment, thousands of lives can be saved each year.
