Nigeria’s dependence on imported ingredients to supply medicines may threaten the nation’s medicine security, notably throughout world provide disruptions.
This was a serious concern raised by stakeholders at a gathering on “Accelerating the shift to domestic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) production for priority essential medicines in Nigeria,” organised by Nigeria Health Watch in partnership with the World Bank Group in Abuja on Friday.
Speaking on the assembly, Olumide Okunola of the World Bank Group stated Nigerian pharmaceutical producers rely closely on imported APIs, leaving the nation weak to disruptions in worldwide provide chains.
APIs are the substances in medicines that produce their meant therapeutic results. Although Nigeria has pharmaceutical firms that manufacture completed medicines, many rely on imported APIs and different uncooked supplies to supply them.
Mr Okunola stated the dependence exposes native producers to worldwide supply-chain disruptions, commerce restrictions and worth volatility, doubtlessly affecting the provision and affordability of important medicines.
He cited the COVID-19 pandemic for instance of how disruptions to world provide chains can expose nations that rely closely on imported medicines and pharmaceutical inputs.
He stated Nigeria didn’t want to supply each pharmaceutical ingredient domestically, however ought to establish important APIs that might feasibly be manufactured within the nation to ensure a minimal stage of home provide.
Mr Okunola additionally recognized insufficient infrastructure, unreliable electrical energy, restricted entry to finance and regulatory bottlenecks as constraints to native pharmaceutical manufacturing.
He stated Nigeria may construct on its current industrial and petrochemical capability to develop home manufacturing of chosen pharmaceutical ingredients.
He urged policymakers to align well being and industrial insurance policies, prioritise APIs utilized in important medicines and create an surroundings that encourages non-public funding in native manufacturing.
Medicine, well being security
Also talking, Chris Isokpunwu, everlasting secretary of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, stated Nigeria’s dependence on exterior sources for important pharmaceutical inputs undermines its capacity to ensure sustainable well being security.
“Nigeria cannot achieve sustainable health security while remaining heavily dependent on external sources for critical pharmaceutical inputs,” he stated.
Mr Isokpunwu stated home manufacturing of pharmaceutical ingredients needs to be handled not solely as a health-sector precedence but additionally as an financial and industrial improvement alternative.
He stated native manufacturing may strengthen the resilience of medicine provide chains, cut back publicity to worldwide disruptions and international change pressures, create expert jobs and retain extra financial worth inside the nation.
However, he cautioned towards pursuing native manufacturing with out contemplating high quality, effectivity and affordability.
“We must, however, be careful not to pursue local production at any cost,” he stated.
“Our objective must be to produce efficiently, meet internationally recognised quality standards, compete on price and reliability, and progressively integrate into regional and global pharmaceutical value chains.”
He referred to as for a sensible roadmap figuring out precedence APIs, funding necessities, infrastructure wants, incentives, regulatory measures and the establishments chargeable for implementation.
Mr Isokpunwu additionally stated the African Continental Free Trade Area may give Nigerian producers alternatives to develop into regional markets and contribute to pharmaceutical worth chains throughout Africa.
Government initiatives
Speaking on the assembly, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), Abdu Mukhtar, stated the initiative was working with native pharmaceutical producers to establish and prioritise APIs based mostly on Nigeria’s public well being wants.
Mr Mukhtar, who was represented by Zara Abba-Aji, stated the initiative was additionally working with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority on excipient manufacturing and exploring methods to enhance entry to capital and technical experience for native manufacturing.
He stated PVAC was participating a neighborhood producer to facilitate entry to European Investment Bank financing and technical help, together with know-how switch, to strengthen home manufacturing capability.
He additionally highlighted the initiative’s pooled procurement platform, MediPool, which he stated was designed to stimulate demand for domestically manufactured medicines.
Mr Mukhtar stated efforts to strengthen native manufacturing should transcend manufacturing capability to deal with affordability, entry to finance, workforce improvement and demand for domestically produced medicines.
Earlier, Vivianne Ihekweazu, managing director of Nigeria Health Watch, stated the provision of reasonably priced and high quality medicines was central to enhancing healthcare outcomes and strengthening the nation’s well being system.
Mrs Ihekweazu stated the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered the dangers of relying closely on exterior provide chains for important medicines and different well being merchandise.
She additionally expressed concern in regards to the gradual progress in implementing the federal authorities’s government order to extend native manufacturing of healthcare merchandise.
She stated the convening was meant to convey authorities, producers, buyers and improvement companions collectively to establish the coverage, regulatory and funding boundaries stopping Nigeria from growing a sustainable home pharmaceutical ingredients business.
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Efforts to strengthen native manufacturing
The considerations come because the federal authorities intensifies efforts to scale back Nigeria’s dependence on imported medicines and strengthen home pharmaceutical manufacturing.
In September, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the federal authorities was focusing on at the least 70 per cent native manufacturing of important healthcare merchandise by 2030.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, stated about 87 native producers had been benefiting from incentives beneath a presidential government order granting tariff reduction on pharmaceutical equipment, lively pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients.
The authorities additionally stated it had secured about $2 billion in financing commitments to help native healthcare manufacturing, with roughly 50 Nigerian well being firms in superior discussions for funding.
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