The development of human resources required in various health disciplines is very important for sustainable health care services delivery and national development. Currently, with the ongoing globalisation and increased competitiveness, it is important for the Government through its health ministry and agencies to use competent professionals to spearhead increased productivity in the health sector.

The National Bureau of Statistics estimated that there were 241 hospitals, 742 health centres and 5,680 dispensaries in the country by 2012. Despite the existing network of primary health facilities, accessibility to health care services is still inadequate due to many reasons. In some areas the accessibility to health facilities is more than 10 kilometres, whereas the Government intends to improve accessibility to be less than 5 kilometres to heath facilities. On the other hand, the availability of quality health care is inequitable, since trained health personnel especially pharmaceutical personnel are inequitably deployed, and it is estimated that only 35% of the existing primary health facilities are run  by  a skilled workforce of whom the majority are without appropriate pharmaceutical training.

As a result, this contributes to high loss of medicines and excruciating mortalities to children and women in reproductive age groups who fail to access appropriate care at the time of need. The Maternal and Child Mortality rates are quite high standing at 578 per 100,000 live births and 68 per 1,000 live births respectively (DHS 2005).

On the other hand, the country is still grappling with a high burden of diseases from malaria, HIV/AIDS, TB and Leprosy, malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, child illnesses, and accidents; not to mention  non-communicable diseases are also on the increase.

It is within this context that the health ministry changed the curricula from the conventional knowledge-based to outcomes / competence based curricula with a flexible mode of delivery and assessment. It is expected that with these curricula, the country can achieve the objective of having a semi qualified pharmaceutical personnel, who could work effectively and assist in  meeting the demands of the health sector. It is also expected that training institutions will ensure that students are equipped with the necessary competences, which will enable them play roles requiring basic skills, knowledge and understanding and in which they take responsibility for their professional roles.

The University, as a result, saw this as an opportunity to complement the Government’s commitment to improving healthcare by designing, developing and introducing Pharmaceutical Sciences Programs, in line with the National Technical Awards (NTA) systems, which is a mandatory requirement for technical training programs to be accredited by the National Council for Technical Education (NACTE).

The aim of the training programme is to supply the country with adequately trained technicians in pharmacy who will work in various health facilities and participate in the provision of basic pharmaceutical services.