Federal government has inaugurated the Electronic Pharmacy Regulation Platform (E-Pharmacy) to enhance the safety of online healthcare services.

Pic credit….healthreporters.info

The platform, championed by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), is designed to regulate digital pharmaceutical services and improve public health outcomes.

Inaugurating the platform, Prof. Ali Pate, coordinating minister of Health and Social Welfare, said the initiative signified Nigeria’s commitment to building a world-class regulatory environment.

Pate noted that pharmacy regulation had faced significant challenges for over three decades but expressed optimism that the new platform would strengthen oversight and accountability.

He said the initiative would enable evidence-based monitoring of pharmaceutical practices while supporting innovation and investment in the health sector.

“This launch is a testament to our collective commitment to advancing technology in the service of health, safety and human dignity.

“It is a decisive step to ensure that pharmaceutical practice in Nigeria aligns with national and global health priorities, reflecting the realities of the 21st century.

“It enables the country to adopt evidence-based approaches to monitoring and protecting public health while supporting innovation and investment,” he said.

The minister added that the platform would help establish a safe, accessible and well-regulated national e-pharmacy ecosystem driven by digital technology.

Earlier, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed, registrar/chief executive officer of PCN, said the need to regulate online pharmacy operations became more urgent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ahmed said the pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital tools and e-commerce in healthcare, exposing longstanding inefficiencies in pharmaceutical supply chains, particularly in Africa and Nigeria.

“This has led to the increasing adoption of digitised distribution of essential medicines through cost-effective and technology-enabled models.

“For decades, PCN has regulated pharmacy education, training, practice and business in Nigeria. However, as the world shifts towards digital solutions, access to medicines has evolved.

“The Electronic Pharmacy Regulations 2026 provide a comprehensive legal and technical framework for the registration, licensing, operation and oversight of digital pharmaceutical services,” he said.

He added that the framework would ensure that ethical standards and patient safety are not compromised in the delivery of online pharmaceutical services.

The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), in collaboration with the Africa Carbon Management Technology & Innovation (ACMTI) and the Clean Energy Ministerial Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Initiative (CEM-CCUS), has launched a Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Initiative Platform in Nigeria.

Speaking at the launch in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Prof. Innocent Barikor, the Director-General of NESREA, described the project as a major milestone in Nigeria’s journey toward environmental sustainability, climate resilience, and industrial transformation.

Barikor explained that the CCUS solution provides an economically viable pathway for industrial decarbonisation by enabling the capture, storage, and utilisation of carbon in sectors such as beverage production, cement manufacturing, chemicals and fuels, enhanced oil recovery, and agriculture.

“We need to reduce carbon in the atmosphere to acceptable levels. Its utilisation offers opportunities to capture and store carbon and deploy it for industrial purposes. We are building a circular economy—turning environmental challenges into economic opportunities in line with regulatory provisions,” he said.

He noted that the CCUS Platform is a collaborative ecosystem designed to bring together key stakeholders, including government institutions, industry leaders, academia, technology developers, development partners, and investors.

Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, commended NESREA for the initiative, describing it as a practical mechanism for coordination, innovation, and action toward Nigeria’s 2035 climate targets and broader energy transition goals.

He added that the university is well-positioned to host the CCUS initiative, noting that its Energy Technology Institute has developed credible expertise in energy transition-related fields critical to the success of CCUS in Nigeria.

On his part, the Coordinator of ACMTI and Facilitator of the Carbon Technology Innovation Platform (CTIP), Dr. Richard Victor Osu, said the vision is to position Nigeria as a regional leader in carbon management technologies while contributing meaningfully to Africa’s climate commitments and global decarbonisation efforts.

Osu explained that Port Harcourt was selected due to its potential as a CCUS hub, adding that the platform will focus on advancing research and innovation, building technical capacity, promoting public-private partnerships, attracting investment, and fostering collaboration with international research and technology partners.

Juho Lipponen of the CEM-CCUS Initiative assured that the organisation would support Nigeria in prioritising CCUS in clean energy discussions, strengthening carbon management deployment programmes, boosting partnerships, facilitating financing solutions, and promoting positive narratives around carbon utilisation.

The event attracted participants from the United States, France, Brazil, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, who shared insights on the initiative.

Also in attendance were representatives of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, as well as private sector stakeholders and development partners.

Kashifu Inuwa, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, has issued a decisive mandate for African nations to establish domestic cloud infrastructure and data sovereignty or risk permanent digital subservience.

Speaking during a high-level strategic session at the GITEX Africa 2026 summit in Morocco, Inuwa argued that the continent must move beyond being a passive consumer of foreign technology to becoming a primary architect of its own digital ecosystem.

He warned that the current state of continental fragmentation leaves Africa vulnerable to external disruptions and prevents the realization of a truly integrated digital economy.

Inuwa characterised the modern global landscape as an environment defined by high-velocity data processing and pervasive intelligent systems, noting that digital integration is now a non-negotiable prerequisite for national survival.

He grounded this technical reality in a striking analogy, describing the cloud as the fundamental life-support system of the modern world. “In today’s reality, digital is no longer optional; it is a way of life,” Inuwa stated. “And the cloud is the oxygen that sustains that life.

The question we must ask ourselves is: who controls that oxygen?”

The push for cloud sovereignty represents a move toward localised data residency and autonomous computational power. Inuwa stressed that without regional data centers and unified regulatory frameworks, African nations remain subject to the policy shifts and geopolitical priorities of overseas providers.

He advocated for a shift from fragmented, siloed efforts toward a federated regional approach that pools resources and expertise to build a robust, self-sustaining African cloud. This transition is essential for ensuring that the massive datasets generated by African users are utilized to train local artificial intelligence models and catalyse internal economic growth rather than being exported for external profit.

The NITDA boss expressed concern over Africa’s limited share of global digital infrastructure, noting that while the continent accounts for between 15 to 19 percent of the world’s population, it holds only about 0.6 percent of global data centre and computing capacity.

He described the imbalance as a structural disadvantage that exposes African countries to risks around data security, economic dependency, and limited participation in the global innovation ecosystem.

“This is not just a technology gap, it is a sovereignty gap,” Inuwa stated. “We are generating data, but we are not in control of how and where that data is stored, processed, or monetised.”

He warned that over reliance on foreign owned cloud platforms could have long term implications for national security, economic competitiveness, and policy autonomy, especially as data becomes a critical resource in the global economy.

Despite these challenges, Inuwa highlighted Africa’s immense potential, pointing to its youthful population, expanding internet penetration, and fast growing startup ecosystem as key drivers of digital growth.

He said the continent is uniquely positioned to leapfrog legacy systems and build modern, scalable infrastructure that can support innovation across sectors.

However, he stressed that achieving this vision would require coordinated action among African governments, private sector players, and regional institutions.

“There is no single country in Africa that can do this alone,” he said. “We must collaborate, integrate our efforts, and build shared infrastructure that benefits the entire continent.”

Central to his recommendation is the creation of a “cloud of clouds” a federated cloud ecosystem that connects multiple national and regional cloud platforms into a unified, interoperable network.

Such a system, he explained, would allow countries to maintain control over their data while benefiting from shared standards, scalability, and cross-border collaboration.

Inuwa pointed to Europe’s Gaia-X as a useful reference model, noting that while Africa’s context is different, the principle of building a trusted and interconnected cloud ecosystem remains relevant.

He emphasised that cloud sovereignty should not be misunderstood as protectionism or digital isolation, but rather as the capacity for self determination in the digital age.

“Sovereignty is about having the ability to make our own choices, to define our own standards, and to build systems that reflect our values and priorities,” he said.

Inuwa further noted that developing indigenous cloud capacity could unlock significant economic opportunities, including job creation, local innovation, improved digital services, and increased investor confidence.

It could also strengthen Africa’s position in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things, all of which depend heavily on robust cloud infrastructure.

The DG concluded by emphasising that the quest for digital sovereignty is not merely a technical objective but a strategic imperative for long-term stability. He asserted that for Africa to achieve meaningful autonomy in an increasingly digitised world, it must secure its own computational foundations.

By establishing indigenous control over data processing and storage, the continent can insulate its critical national infrastructure from external volatility while ensuring that its digital future is determined by its own policies and priorities. The message was clear: Africa must harmonise its infrastructure and localise its computational assets now or face an era of unprecedented digital marginalisation.

As global competition in the digital space intensifies, Africa’s ability to act collectively and strategically will determine whether it emerges as a major digital powerhouse or remains on the periphery of the digital revolution.