HUCE Honors Community Pharmacists in Nigeria

Howard University Continuing Education (HUCE) honored three distinguished clinicians from the Nigerian Ports Authority at a ceremony held July 13. Stella N. Obikili, principal manager for Pharmacy in Lagos; Edeudo Chijioke, senior manager in Lagos; and Dr. Titilola Essein, principal manager in Cross River State, participated in a five-day, tailored, intensive training program entitled “Current Trends in the Management of Diabetes Mellitus” at HUCE, where they learned about new innovations in the management of the disease.

International students participated in HUCE Diabetes course (L to R): Dr. Edeudo Chijioke, Stella N. Obikili and Dr. Titilola Essein.

Through HUCE’s Office of International Programs (OIP), the Pharmacists and Continuing Education (PACE) Center has provided training to pharmacists around the world through courses held at HUCE’s Silver Spring headquarters as well as on-site in other countries. The Center seeks to provide valuable information about new technology and enhance pharmacists’ skills through rigorous professional development certificate programs and shorter, tailored training programs. The Pace Center also conducts research on the role of pharmacists in developing countries and provides technical assistance to developing countries to strengthen their capacity for pharmacists.

Nigerian students received certificates of participation at closing ceremony.

Special guests at the closing ceremony included Clinical Pharmacy Associates Director Dr. Christopher Keeys, who is also an adjunct professor at Howard, and his assistant Dr. Francis Dennard. The training effort was spearheaded by Dr. Rosalyn C. King, program manager for the Office of International Programs (OIP) and coordinated by Dr. Grace M.A. Jennings.

In her remarks, Dr. Peggy Berry, director of Continuing Education, noted how honored HUCE was to host the distinguished health care managers and said that HUCE was extremely pleased to serve as the venue for the intensive study program and the place for information exchange regarding such a life-threatening disease. “It will be due to such unselfish sharing of health care information that patients with Diabetes Mellitus throughout the world will experience greater improvement in the quality of their lives,” said Berry.

Berry also reflected that the Office of International Programs, founded in March 1993, has trained approximately 1,600 professionals from 25 countries through almost 40 programs, projects and non-credit courses. HUCE has served students in Haiti, Ghana, The Czech Republic, Jordan, India and more, including providing in-country training in Kenya, Sudan, Romania and the U.S. Virgin Islands, among others.