Medication Management, Use and Safety in Non- Communicable Diseases: Any Hope for the Nigerian Patients?

Globally, the recognition of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as a major cause of morbidity and mortality is increasing. The link between poor lifestyle choices such as drug use, alcohol and tobacco use, diet, lack of exercise or stress management provides a major challenge in medication use in the management of NCDs. In NCDs, the management and use of medications is associated with many challenges in the Nigerian health care system including access to medicine, infrastructural decay, quality of health professional, poor adherence to therapy, and poor knowledge of patients, among others. Despite these challenges, there is hope for Nigerian patients suffering from NCDs as the existing global approaches aimed at improving access to drugs, and medication management and use can be a live saver for them. Irrespective of poverty problems in the country, the threat from increasing prevalence of NCDs can be overcome with a combination of the efforts from government, health professionals and the individual patients. Adequate education of the patients and the public can lead to behavioral change and reduction in NCDs while at the same time improving medication use behaviours.