Chicago’s Pharmacy Desert Plan: A Template for West Africa’s Urban Health Access Crisis?
The Report
As reported by Afrotech journalist Sidnee Michelle, Chicago Alderman William Hall has unveiled a proposal to launch a pilot program in July 2026 aimed at expanding prescription medication access in underserved neighborhoods. The initiative follows the closure of a Walgreens store in the Chatham neighborhood after more than two decades, which Walgreens attributed to safety concerns and retail theft.
Hall’s broader proposal includes the creation of a city-run Office of Pharmacy Access to increase pharmacy services across all 77 of Chicago’s community areas. Under the plan, the city could provide affordable commercial space to independent pharmacists, reducing operating costs while increasing access in underserved areas. Hall told FOX 32 Chicago:
“Walgreens has, in my opinion, started the 21st century medicine apartheid. When we asked for help on this side of town years ago, they did not give us any new designs. They didn’t give us any support.”
Hall plans to discuss funding options with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, including directing revenue from late-night liquor sales toward the initiative. Research from the University of Southern California’s Program on Medicines and Public Health indicates pharmacy deserts are more common in low-income communities and neighborhoods with large Black and Latino populations.
WANA Regional Analysis
While this story originates in Chicago, its structural dynamics—pharmacy deserts in low-income, predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods—mirror a growing crisis across West African urban centers. From Lagos to Abidjan to Accra, the closure of community pharmacies and the concentration of pharmaceutical services in wealthier districts is creating parallel access gaps that demand urgent policy attention.
ECOWAS Relevance and Regional Trade Implications
The Chicago model of using city-owned commercial space to subsidize independent pharmacists offers a potential framework for West African municipalities. Across the ECOWAS region, urban pharmacies are increasingly concentrated in commercial hubs, leaving peri-urban and low-income neighborhoods underserved. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has long advocated for harmonized pharmaceutical policies, but implementation at the municipal level remains weak. Chicago’s proposal to create a dedicated Office of Pharmacy Access could serve as a governance template for cities like Abidjan, where the closure of small pharmacies due to rent hikes and regulatory burdens has been documented by local health authorities.
Political and Governance Significance
From a regional policy perspective, the Chicago initiative highlights the role of municipal government in addressing health inequities—a role that West African city councils often lack the fiscal autonomy or political will to assume. In many ECOWAS states, pharmacy regulation is centralized at the national level, leaving local governments with limited tools to intervene. Hall’s proposal to redirect liquor tax revenue toward pharmacy access is a creative fiscal mechanism that could inspire similar earmarking in West African cities, where informal alcohol sales are a significant but untaxed economic activity.
Security and Infrastructure Impact
The closure of the Chatham Walgreens was partly attributed to retail theft and safety concerns—a factor that resonates in West African cities where pharmacy robberies and vandalism are underreported but growing problems. In Lagos, for example, the proliferation of unregistered drug vendors in low-income areas is partly a response to the withdrawal of formal pharmacies from high-crime neighborhoods. Chicago’s approach of providing secure, city-subsidized commercial space could offer a model for reducing both crime and health access disparities simultaneously.
Economic Consequences and Health System Strain
Pharmacy deserts force residents to rely on informal drug sellers, increasing the risk of counterfeit or expired medications—a well-documented crisis in West Africa. The Chicago pilot’s emphasis on independent pharmacists could, if adapted, strengthen the formal pharmaceutical supply chain in cities like Accra, where the Ghana Pharmacy Council has struggled to enforce standards in underserved areas. The economic burden of travel and lost wages for patients who must journey to distant pharmacies is a shared challenge across both contexts.
Strategic Forecasting
Against this backdrop, the Chicago experiment bears watching for West African health policymakers. If successful, the model could be adapted through ECOWAS technical working groups on urban health. However, the political will to redirect municipal revenue toward pharmacy access remains uncertain in many West African capitals, where competing infrastructure and security priorities dominate budgets. The July 2026 pilot launch will provide early indicators of feasibility that could inform similar initiatives in the region.
Regional Backdrop
Historically, West African governments have relied on central procurement and distribution systems for essential medicines, often neglecting the last-mile access challenges that pharmacy deserts represent. The Chicago proposal’s focus on local government intervention and public-private partnership is a departure from this centralized model. In Nigeria, for instance, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has focused on product quality rather than geographic access. The Chicago approach could encourage a shift toward municipal-level health access planning, particularly in rapidly urbanizing ECOWAS member states where population density exacerbates the impact of pharmacy closures.
Original Reporting By: Afrotech