The Niger State Private Health Facilities Agency (NiSPHFA) has sealed 12 unregistered Islamic medicine stores in Minna and a health facility in Katcha Local Government Area (LGA).

The executive chairman of NiSPHFA, Abdullahi Suleiman, disclosed this while receiving members of the Islamic and Prophetic Medicine Practitioners’ Association of Nigeria (IPMPAN) in Minna.

The enforcement is part of the agency’s renewed efforts to protect residents from unsafe healthcare practices and ensure compliance with minimum standards.

Mr Suleiman said the facilities were sealed for alleged non-compliance with regulatory standards.

According to him, the enforcement is not aimed at persecuting healthcare providers but at ensuring residents have access to safe, quality, and standard-compliant healthcare services.

“Our responsibility is to protect the people by ensuring that anyone providing healthcare services operates within the required standards,” he said.

He urged genuine alternative medicine practitioners to register with NiSPHFA, saying registration would enable the agency to identify operators, monitor their activities, and protect residents from unsafe products and practices.

Mr Suleiman also announced plans to organise a trade fair for verified alternative medicine practitioners to promote legitimate practices and improve public confidence in alternative healthcare.

He emphasised the need for practitioners to maintain minimum standards of hygiene, sanitation, safe preparation and storage of medicines, proper packaging, and infection prevention.

“Practitioners should refer patients whose conditions are beyond their capacity to appropriate health facilities. Such referrals will help reduce avoidable health risks,” he said.

The chairman said sustained enforcement, stakeholder collaboration, and improved compliance would enable NiSPHFA to safeguard residents and promote a safer, more accountable, and quality-driven healthcare system across the state.

He said the NiSPHFA enforcement team inspected 10 health facilities in Katcha Local Government Area and identified various irregularities requiring improvement.

Mr Suleiman said the affected facilities were issued 21-day notices to correct the identified deficiencies.

“One of the facilities inspected was sealed for non-compliance with established standards,” he said.

He added that the agency also secured the support of the local government area in identifying and addressing facilities operating with irregularities.

Earlier, IPMPAN chairman, Abdullahi Haske, commended the state government for establishing NiSPHFA.

He pledged the association’s cooperation in ensuring that its members complied with regulatory requirements.

(NAN)