The Federal Government has launched the Electronic Pharmacy Regulations 2026 to strengthen oversight, improve medicine safety and regulate Nigeria’s fast-growing digital pharmaceutical market, amid rising concerns over fake drugs and weak supply chain controls.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja on Friday, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollum, represented by the Director of Hospital Services of the ministry, Dr Abisola Adegoke, described the development as a major milestone in healthcare regulation.
“It is an honour and a privilege for me to deliver the opening remarks… at the official launch of the Electronic Pharmacy Regulations 2026,” she said.
Kachollum added, “It gives me great pleasure to welcome our dignitaries and distinguished guests to this milestone in the history of healthcare regulation in our nation.”
She commended the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare for facilitating the process.
“This framework… is a product of collaborative engagement with relevant partners, including technology innovators, healthcare providers and legal experts,” she said.
Highlighting the significance of the policy, she noted, “The document balances the need for accessibility, security and accountability.”
Kachollum stressed that the framework is designed to protect Nigerians as healthcare delivery increasingly shifts online.
“We meet this evolution with a robust modern framework designed to ensure that ethical standards, honesty and trustworthiness are not compromised, to save citizens from potential risk,” she said.
She added that the regulation would strengthen Nigeria’s broader digital health system.
“The development of this regulation will further provide the needed backbone for the national electronic pharmacy policy,” she said.
“It is expected to improve medicine traceability, strengthen prescription regime and expand safe pharmaceutical access for both underserved areas and urban centres,” Kachollum added.
Nigeria’s pharmaceutical market is estimated to be worth over $10 billion, with rapid growth driven by population expansion, urbanisation and increasing demand for healthcare services.
However, experts say weak regulation and fragmented supply chains have long enabled the circulation of counterfeit and substandard medicines. The World Health Organisation estimates that about 10 to 15 per cent of medicines in low- and middle-income countries, including Nigeria, are substandard or falsified.
The rise of e-commerce and digital health platforms—accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic—has further transformed how Nigerians access medicines, creating both opportunities and risks.
While making his presentation, the Registrar of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, Pharmacist Ibrahim Ahmed, said the pandemic exposed critical gaps.
“The need to regulate online pharmacy operations in Nigeria became more pertinent with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
“The pandemic accelerated interest in e-commerce… and highlighted long-running deficiencies in health systems including inefficiencies of pharmaceutical supply chains, especially in Africa,” Ahmed added.
He explained that the shift to digital platforms has outpaced existing regulatory systems.
“As the world pivots towards a digital direction, the ways in which patients access life-saving medications have evolved,” he said.
“Today, we meet that evolution with a robust, modern framework designed to ensure that ethical standards are not compromised and to save customers from potential risks.”
Ahmed said the new regulation establishes a comprehensive structure for digital pharmaceutical services.
“The regulations establish a comprehensive legal and technical framework for the registration, licensing, operation and oversight of digital pharmaceutical services,” he said.
He added that the framework aligns Nigeria with global standards while encouraging innovation.
“Our objective is to establish a regulatory framework that aligns with international best practices for the protection of consumers, while fostering innovation in the healthcare sector,” he said.
Ahmed noted that the regulation introduces a National Electronic Pharmacy Platform to improve transparency and traceability.
“We will certify and license electronic pharmacies and provide a platform for verification of electronic pharmacies,” he said.
“We are safeguarding the public by ensuring that only persons with requisite knowledge and qualifications are involved in online pharmacy practice,” he added.
Also speaking, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, said the regulation is part of broader reforms to organise Nigeria’s healthcare market and attract investment.
“By stabilising practices and improving transparency, the regulations address our ability to strengthen accessibility in medicines distribution across the nation,” Pate said.
He noted that Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector has historically been characterised by informal and loosely regulated distribution channels.
“The haphazard market does not serve anyone. A well-organised market… must have a well-functioning regulatory framework so that social harm is reduced,” he said.
Pate stressed that the regulation prioritises patient safety, data protection and accountability.
“These provisions cover prescription management, data privacy, compliance and consumer protection,” he said.
“It takes away discretion and reduces the opportunities for what traditionally we would call those discretions that can be exercised,” he added.
According to him, digital tools will play a central role in improving health outcomes.
“This is an evidence-based way of monitoring and protecting public health while supporting innovation and investment,” Pate said.
“Our mission is to establish a safe, accessible and fully regulated national e-pharmacy ecosystem.”
He explained that the system would leverage technology to improve medicine access and adherence.
“By making medicines readily available, supporting adherence through digital tools and capturing critical health data, e-pharmacy directly advances healthcare delivery.”
Pate warned that all operators must comply with the new regulations or face sanctions.
“To all e-pharmacy operators and health technology companies operating in the grey area, the time for full compliance is now,” he said.
“The licensing process is open… we urge them to engage proactively with the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria and design their platforms with patient safety at the centre.”
He added that the government would combine enforcement with collaboration.
“Those who comply with this regulation will find in PCN a regulator who is also a partner, and those who do not comply will find that they have a strengthened enforcer,” he said.
The minister also signalled Nigeria’s readiness to attract investment in digital health.
“To our development partners, international organisations, private sector players and investors, Nigeria is ready for business,” Pate added.
