The Federal Government plans to raise Nigeria’s local production of essential healthcare products to at least 70 per cent by 2030, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, has said.
Salako disclosed this on Monday in Lagos at the opening of the 8th Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo organised by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.
He said the disruptions experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in global health financing had exposed the risks of relying heavily on overseas sources for medicines and other critical health products.
According to the minister, the government is using the Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain and the Presidential Executive Order for Pharmaceutical and Allied Sectors to expand domestic manufacturing.
He said the healthcare value-chain initiative had attracted commitments of about $2 billion at single-digit interest rates, with around 50 Nigerian health companies in advanced discussions for funding.
Salako added that 87 local manufacturers were benefiting from the pharmaceutical executive order, which provides zero tariffs on pharmaceutical machinery, active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients across nearly 1,000 Harmonised System codes.
The government is also pursuing domestic capacity for producing active pharmaceutical ingredients, vaccines, biologics, diagnostics and other health commodities. Salako cited the NIPRD API Capacity Building and Concept Production Centre, commercial API manufacturing efforts and plans to localise HIV, hepatitis and syphilis diagnostic production.
He stressed that local manufacturing should not be limited to packaging or assembling imported products.
“Localization must not mean simply importing the active ingredients, packaging materials and technologies and assembling the final product,” he said.
Salako said Nigeria needed to develop capabilities spanning research, raw materials, formulation, quality assurance, manufacturing, packaging and distribution.
He also called for greater investment in research and development, including the use of Nigeria’s phytomedicinal resources.
The minister said Medipool, the national Group Purchasing Organisation for essential medicines and medical commodities, would help provide local manufacturers with more predictable demand through aggregated procurement, bulk purchasing and improved supply-chain coordination.
He urged manufacturers, researchers, investors and development partners to use the African Continental Free Trade Area to access wider markets and strengthen the competitiveness of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry.
Salako said achieving medicine security would require sustained investment, innovation, regulatory coordination and stronger regional integration.
“Our health security will be built not only in hospitals and laboratories, but also in our factories, universities, research centres, supply chains and investment decisions,” he said.
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