MEET ARIANA
Health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. I love this definition because it teaches you exactly what health is all about. I am pretty sure most people believe it is just the absence of disease. But it is beyond that, it also entails a peaceful living and a clean working environment that enhances your mental well-being.
Born and raised in Sierra Leone, Manal Ghazzawi (PharmD) is a Specialist Pharmacist and the owner of CitiGlobe Pharmacy. She is a fellow at the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists and is soon to hold a master’s degree in Public Health.
Her hunger for knowledge, her ambition and the passion with which she undertakes projects makes her stand out from the crowd. She finds great pleasure in helping people. This human quality has birthed an NGO – KNOW HEP FOUNDATION Sierra Leone. Their vision is to eliminate the Hepatitis B in Sierra Leone by reaching the global strategic targets for the elimination of the virus.
She shares her journey and lessons on her quest to providing public health services and her philosophy on what it means to have a healthy holistic life.
HEALTH IS WEALTH
You can be rich but not healthy and that will take a lot from your happiness and your success in life. Your best investment is your body: so be deliberate about your health because you only have one body and one life.
Let’s look at it from a public health point of view- a healthy population is a wealthy nation; a healthy population is a key to a productive nation, which in turn boosts a country’s economy.
However it’s not every time that we should go blaming the health system for our poor health, because the responsibility lies with us. We need to own our lives and start practicing self-care by adopting a healthy lifestyle.
We all have a responsibility for our health; it will be nice to create a culture of health and well-being in Sierra Leone. Hence, the cultivation of health starts at home. I am saying this because most chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, certain types of cancers and respiratory diseases like asthma – are linked to behavioural or environmental risk factors.
The beauty of a healthy lifestyle is finding balance:
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I try to be physically active, at least three times per week. I find you can be adventurous about it; I love swimming, jet skiing and dancing which is my passion
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I try to eat as healthy as I can. I hardly eat red meat or chicken and I try to eat like a pescatarian i.e. eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and fish. I do cheat of course because I love desserts like ice cream and chocolates- ha ha but like I said it is all about finding the balance.
SETTING THE PACE
I am proud to say that I am a pioneer for introducing public health services into pharmacy practice in Sierra Leone. I am the first to introduce immunization services and in house rapid diagnostic services in which other pharmacies are taking the lead.
My pharmacy called CitiGlobe is also widely known for its diabetes clinics and innovative solutions for the community. We have become the centre for free consultations on various issues: weight loss, cardiovascular diseases, STIs and hepatitis B viral disease education.
Due to the impact CitiGlobe Pharmacy has created, it has received two awards as the most outstanding pharmacy one that offers reliable pharmaceutical care services to the public.
The Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone considers CitiGlobe as one of the best community pharmacies for graduate pharmacists both from Sierra Leone and those coming from abroad to practice in Sierra Leone.
CitiGlobe is the only pharmacy that engages in community outreach in the fight against Hepatitis b and Diabetes. I wish to inspire more pharmacists or other healthcare professionals and everyone to join me in my campaign to eliminate Hepatitis B.
CHALLENGES IN THE HEALTH SECTOR
The biggest challenge I’ll say is the lack of collaboration between different healthcare professionals. We should be working in a concerted effort to achieve one goal, which is a positive patient health outcome.
For example: pharmaceutical care is about working with the patient and his/her physician in a collaborative manner:
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A pharmacist liaises with the physician by offering him or her updates on possible and potential drug therapy problems of the patient. This report must contain information about possible adverse drug reactions as that could lead to death.
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But most often this is not the case as many deaths occur in hospitals due to medication errors (inappropriate drug, wrong indication, drug interactions, contraindications etc.) which could be prevented . The fact is that the health system does not encourage pharmacists to exercise their role as drug experts, where they can save lives by doing therapeutic drug monitoring in the ward.
LESSONS LEARNT
Being in this line of work is not as easy as it seems, one needs moral support and so there are people I look up to for guidance and inspiration. My mentor, Dr Wiltshire Johnson is one of them. He is someone I have much regard and respect for just because he has tried so hard to change the face of the pharmacy profession in the country and has pushed us all hard to become what we are today. He is the only senior colleague that strove to introduce specialist pharmacy programs and the Doctor of Pharmacy programs. I will say he has taught me not to take life too seriously and to help others grow in life.
My other mentor is my professor in Nigeria called Professor Manuel Wannang. He has taught and inspired me to be more receptive to knowledge.
FOLLOWING HER DREAMS AND PASSION
My dreams, hmmm, they are so many and they become more every day. For now, I dream of having chains of pharmacies in Sierra Leone.
There are not many synergies between my passion and the income I generate. I usually don’t draw the line, if I see a needy person who can’t afford their drugs I give it out for free. My passion does not generate income since it is more of charity work and free health consultations. I don’t think it matters because seeing ‘happy hearts’ is the greatest reward I could have.
I generate income by doing importations since I have my brands of drugs and glucometer (blood sugar monitoring device) on the market. Sometimes out of nowhere with minimal effort God rewards me and I sit and say, “Wow indeed this is all because God sees what we do in our little corner”.
I am a budding entrepreneur and I have other plans in the pipeline outside the pharmaceutical industry – so watch this space!!”
** Manal’s Organisation- Citiglobe will be doing free testing for residents of the Lakka Beach Community Center, Rural Freetown, Sierra Leone on Saturday 27th July as part of the celebrations for World Hepatitis Day. **
