The Board of Fellows of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (BOF-PSN) has proposed a national dialogue on the local manufacture of essential medicines to address drug insecurity in the health system.
Making the proposal at a press briefing held in Lagos, the board emphasized that it is no longer economically feasible to import 100 per cent of active pharmaceutical raw materials. It also announced plans to hold a mid-year meeting in Anambra State on the theme: ‘Access to Quality Medicines in an Unstable Environment.’
The board also proposed regular dialogue between government and PSN stakeholders on tackling access to medicine, as well as treating the issue as an integral component of national security.
The Chairman, BOF-PSN, Dr Joel Adagadzu, said the theme will traverse the narrow boundaries of political considerations with a focus on the plight of the citizens with the heavy burden of costs and other challenges related to access to quality medicine.
He said the association considers it expedient to ceaselessly draw the attention of the government to the plight of Nigerians who are unable to have access to quality medicines daily and urged the government to reverse the ugly trend.
“We believe that finding solutions to the nation’s challenges is the responsibility of all patriotic Nigerians and not just the exclusive preserve of those in government. Our country is going through a difficult period in terms of the dire economic situation. Inflation is on a steady rise, foreign exchange is thwarted by the unstable exchange rate. Access to dollars by importers and local manufacturers of medicines can be traumatic. The prices of medicines have gone up by a high percentage and still rising by the day,” he said.
Adagadzu noted that although there had been some encouraging level of commitment directed at easing the challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry in the last few months, delaying support to tackle the current challenges facing the industry.
“The country cannot be importing one hundred percent of its active pharmaceutical raw materials and be paying all kinds of taxes and customs fees while operating under debilitating challenges and still be expected to produce affordable medicines,” he added.
A fellow, the Pharmacy Society of Nigeria, Chris Ibeto also raised concerns over the over-profiteering of multi-national pharmaceutical companies, which adds to the issues of drug affordability in the country, hence, the need for the government to invest in local pharmaceutical productions.
“If you compare products by a local company and multi-nationals with the same quality, the price is always about four times higher than the one produced by the local company,” he added.
