Individuals with a little knowledge on pharmacy are running drugstores in Nepal because an increasing number of pharmacists are going abroad every year in search of better opportunities, a leading English newspaper, The Himalayan Times daily, reported on Saturday.

According to Navin Shrestha, president of the Graduate Pharmacists' Association Nepal, there are over 13,000 drug retailers in the country.

As institutions based in the country roll out 100 pharmacy graduates every year on an average, it is not possible for every drugstore to keep a pharmacist, Shrestha was quoted by the daily as saying.

According to an estimate from the association, more than 100 pharmacists have shifted to different European countries, America and Australia in recent years.

"More and more pharmacists are going abroad," the Department of Drug Administration (DDA) director-general Bhupendra Bahadur Thapa said.

"There is a dearth of pharmacists in the country, but we can do nothing to stop them from going abroad for better opportunities," Thapa added.

According to Thapa, the Institute of Medicine of the Tribhuvan University has eight seats for the graduate course on pharmacy. The Kathmandu University and Pokhara University take in 30 persons for the same course.

Source: Xinhua