Pharmaceuticals in Nigeria are pushing for the country’s self-sufficiency in drug production. But they say achieving this feat requires creation of a favourable environment that will ramp up the capacity of local manufacturers, suggesting the need for innovative approach to rigorously and comprehensively engage with stakeholders on the challenges in the industry.
The drug makers, under the aegis of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), said this while announcing its 2016 biennial forum, which will take place on June 2, in Abuja.
According to the group, the N300 billion investment made in the industry in the last 10 to 15 years need to be protected, adding that providing adequate access to high quality healthcare for Nigerians has been one of the most intractable challenges for the Nigerian government and other important stakeholders involved in national healthcare provision.
“Although some progress has been made recently, there are still significant barriers to the provision of optimum healthcare for the average Nigerian. This is evidenced by the relevant health indices such as life expectancy at birth, maternal mortality ratio, and infant mortality rate which are still relatively poor,” said PMG-MAN, led by Okey Akpa, who alongside other stakeholders, will speak at the event.
The group said national self-sufficiency, which is at the heart of the Nigerian government and the group, aligns with the international thinking regarding how countries should formulate strategies to enable them build societies that are safe and secure from illnesses and diseases.
“Evidence of this was seen last year, when after a quarter of a decade, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which formed a framework for developing solutions to the world’s problems, morphed into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with ‘sustainability’ identified as the game changing factor.
“The main ‘take-away’ from the MDG experience, therefore, is that the ultimate responsibility to developing sustainable solutions to our problems is ours. This is a strong indication of how important this forum is, for the development of contextual solutions in this area of Nigerian healthcare,” PMG-MAN said.
