Sunyani, Sept. 26, GNA- Mr Yaw Adjei-Duffuor, Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister on Friday advised chemical sellers to administer drugs to the public under hygienic conditions.

You are not only to keep yourselves clean but also your shops and surroundings to ensure that quality services are rendered, he said. Mr Adjei-Duffuor was speaking at the 10th National Delegates Conference of the Ghana National Chemical Sellers Association in Sunyani.

The conference, has the theme, "the role of the Chemical Seller in the third millennium", and will deliberate on issues to enhance the growth of the association to achieve better health services to the society.

The Deputy Minister said the health of the general public was of paramount importance to productivity and as such the sellers need to ensure that stale and expired drugs are destroyed and not sold for profit at the expense of the people's health.

"We are aware that some of your members emphasize more on the profit aspect of the work and operate outside the confines of the law that regulates the operations of chemical sellers.

Mr Adjei-Duffour explained that this is because chemical sellers lack the knowledge, training and expertise in handling certain types of drugs needed for patients.

He warned chemical sellers who leave their shops in the care of relatives and assistants who know nothing about drugs to serve the public to desist from the practice.

He noted that the practice had accounted to the building up of resistance against some common diseases since those drugs need to be handled by trained pharmacists.

The Deputy Minister said the country was relying on the services of chemical sellers in health delivery due to inadequate qualified pharmacists.

He urged the Pharmacy Council and health authorities to consider the training of people with good educational background for the distribution and retailing of pharmaceutical drugs in rural areas where pharmacists are unwilling to work.

Mr Kwadwo Djan-Mantey, National President of the Association urged members to move into larger communities as their activities have become so much self-centred that did not allow the society to recognize their role in health care delivery system.

Dr Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Health, in a speech read for him stated that the HIV/AIDS is the greatest challenge in the Health Services and urged the participants to play an active role in fighting the pandemic.

He called for more of such programmes to equip chemical sellers with the requisite knowledge, information and skills to function well.