(Local Drug Production. Photo Credit: Planet Pulse Nigeria)
The National Coordinator of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain, Dr Abdu Mukhtar, has revealed that data from Customs shows that manufacturers have accessed approximately twenty-six billion naira under the initiative.
He made this disclosure at a review meeting of the Technical Working Group responsible for implementing the Presidential Executive Order on the local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products, held nearly a year after the policy was introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The review painted a positive picture of the initiative’s progress, with sixty-three pharmaceutical companies, representing roughly fifty-five percent of all eligible firms, having benefited from the Executive Order since its introduction.
Dr Mukhtar noted that the policy is helping local manufacturers become more competitive and profitable, with the added benefit of keeping the prices of essential medicines lower or more stable for consumers.
He added that the initiative is also contributing to job creation, boosting local production capacity and improving Nigerians’ access to affordable, quality medicines.
With approximately one year remaining before the Executive Order is due to expire, the committee used the meeting to consider requests for the inclusion of additional manufacturers and products, and to begin mapping out recommendations to the government on how the policy should be handled going forward.
The meeting, hosted by the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain, brought together a broad range of key stakeholders, including representatives from the Ministries of Health, Trade and Industry, the Customs Service, the Nigerian Revenue Service, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, and several other relevant government agencies.
