Nigeria’s local manufacturers are recording 12% reduction in the cost of production as a result of the ongoing implementation of the execution order on the pharma industry signed by President Bola Tinubu, Iziaq Salako, minister of state for health has said.
Salako, who said this at the BusinessDay Health Conference in Abuja on Thursday, said the reduction is expected to result in similar reduction in the cost of stockpiles manufactured in country.
Tinubu, had in June 2024, signed an executive order aimed at eliminating tariffs, excise duties, and value added tax (VAT) on specialised machinery, equipment, and raw materials for pharmaceuticals. The goal was to stimulate local production of essential healthcare products like syringes, biologicals, and medical textiles, thereby reducing production costs and making medicines more affordable.
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The minister informed that 87 local manufacturers are directly benefiting from incentives spread across a total of almost 1,000 harmonized system codes as a result of the implementation of the order.
“The feedback from our local manufacturers suggest that the implementation of the presidential order has resulted in about 12% reduction in the cost of production”, the minister said.
The minister further said the order, which is part of the broader Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) is revitalising the local manufacturing, and have led to emergence of pharmaceutical and diagnostic hubs .
He informed that two Nigerian products attained the highly regarded WHO qualification in less than a year, the first such achievement in West and Central Africa. He added that a local manufacturer of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) was commissioned in Ogun State few months ago, second of such contextual specification in South Saharan Africa.
“Yet another local manufacturer is set to commission Africa’s first contextual active pharmaceutical ingredient factory”, he added.
According to him, the bold initiative under PVAC, including the presidential executive order on pharmaceuticals is revitalizing local manufacturing as a driving force for Nigerian health sector reforms.
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“PVAC is catalyzing health security, economic growth and employment by accelerating value chain transformation through cross-institutional coordination and collaboration”, he said.
He explained that presidential order works in tandem by directly incentivizing local manufacturing for medicine and other commodities, such as syringes and rapid diagnostic tests.
