President Bola Tinubu has taken swift action amid the rising cost of essential medicines in Nigeria, directing the development of an Executive Order to alleviate barriers hindering local drug manufacturing.
This initiative, revealed by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Prof.Ali Pate during a meeting in Lagos, aims to address challenges such as foreign exchange, local production, policy consistency, and research and development in the pharmaceutical sector.
Key stakeholders, including industry CEOs and regulatory authorities, were present to discuss and tackle the persistent issues facing the nation’s pharmaceutical industry.
Pate emphasized the Federal Government’s commitment to promoting aggressive local manufacturing for accessible and affordable medicines.
The minister said, “This consultation that we have had is fine and we will have the second consultative forum in three months times.“As you know, the president has directed that an Executive Order be developed to look into it and will begin to reduce the barriers to local drug manufacturing to enable the industry to thrive.
“And we expect that over time, it will reduce the cost of pharmaceuticals. The rising cost of pharmaceuticals is a major issue that bothers all of us as a government.
“It is not only a Nigerian issue, it is a global issue. In the context of our administration, we are very focused on what we can do to reduce the burden on Nigerians, especially the most vulnerable.
“So, this is a very fruitful consultation that we have had with the industry.”
