Wale Edun’s Memo on Increased Local Production of Health Care Products: Best Way to Turn Nigeria Around
By Ovie Edomi
Co- ordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun,OFR, recently came up with a circular on the implementation of a Presidential Executive Order to increase local production of Health Care products, produce cost of health care equipment and consumables and promote local investments. This to me, is the most crucial policy in the decision to check the importation of sub- standard health care products into Nigeria.
This is so because health experts are daily worried about the widespread of counterfeit and substandard drugs across Nigeria especially from foreign manufacturers. Most often, the larger parts of the sub- standards drugs or even fake drugs are imported by Nigerian importers in collaboration with foreign manufacturers. The result of such dastardly act is that between 2017 and 2021, about 605 tons of medical products were seized in West Africa through international operations.
Usually these products come into West Africa by sea and some of the drugs get diverted through illegal supply chain from China to the Sahel region into neighboring West Africa countries.Once the sub- standard drugs get to West Africa,smugglers use buses,cars, trucks to move them into Nigeria using existing trafficking routes to avoid border controls and officials of NAFDAC, Nigeria Customs Service, NDLEA, SON and so on.
The continual high prevalence of infectious diseases, health deterioration situations of many patients and increase in death rate are associated with the trafficking and sales of sub- standard drugs in Nigeria. It has gone so bad that the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria,PCN in trying to sanitize the drug industry to reduce death rate began a crack down on illegal medicine stores across the country and last year within six months precisely April to September, it sealed 1409 medical stores. Out of 1409 sealed stores , 1115 were patient medicine shops while 294 were pharmacies. This is just a tip of the iceberg considering the devastating effects of sub-standard drugs on the country.
In Nigeria we hardly applaud our government officials when they come up with policies that will promote public health, economic growth and efficiency. The debate most often, in the public space is about bias for the government and it’s officials but it is to be expected because they owe us quality leadership and dividends of democratic governance. I believe however in the many points articulated in the co – ordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance’s circular. Infact, for the first time, the President Tinubu’s administration has come up with a policy framework that looks promising and good enough to revitalize the drug industries in Nigeria. This is so because in the last few decades, many pharmaceutical companies have relocated to Ghana,etc owing to poor electricity supply,bad road, high cost of diesel and other production costs.
Despite the deficiencies in our infrastructure, we have so much untapped economic potentials in the health care sector and so on that we can use to boost the nation’s GDP. For instance, if our local manufacturing firms and health care promoters converge to key into the policy trust of Mr Edun on healthcare products production, there will be a new multiplier effect on the rest of the economy.
This therefore is the time to take serious the nation’s health care policy framework. If Mr Edun’s policy framework is implemented to the core, it will help to grow the contribution of manufacturing firms to over 25 per cent of our GDP. Again, if we encourage local manufacturing, Nigeria is more likely to follow the pattern seen in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand etc during their expansion period in manufacturing and this can be the starting point for a turn around.
Also, the Co- ordinating Minister of Economy and Finance Minister’s circular is capable of reducing cost of health care equipment and consumables in no time and promote local investment in Nigeria.
Already Nigeria has a large pool of pharmaceutical companies that produce health care products in Lagos, Ogun, Anambra, Oyo and other states but majority of them can attract more investors if our policy does not allow fake drugs to be imported or trafficked into our country. This is where Mr Wale Edun’s policy framework is very key .
In fact, implementation of government guidelines and policy framework are poor in our country in time past and those saddled with the role of gate keeping should be held responsible. For instance , it was reported that there were 267,000 death resulting from sub- standard malaria drugs and another 169,000death resulting from fake anti- biotics that was uses to treat severe pneumonia in children.The question is where are NAFDAC officials and other gate keepers? However, we can begin afresh and change the narrative.
No doubt, this policy framework from the Co- ordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance will help to bring greater synergy between the Federal Ministry of Health, and Social Welfare , Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Ministry of Budget and National Planning , the Nigeria custom service , Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria,MAN.
There is therefore a need to deepen engagement between the country’s ministries and agencies to strengthen the economic frameworks and collaborations needed to bring about the change in the drug industry and health sector
Apart from Wale Edun’s desire to revitalise Nigeria’s economy, there is a need to prioritise reforms that will lay the groundwork needed to realise the transformative vision of President Tinubu as part of his campaign promises in line with the renewed hope agenda of Mr President.
This much was echoed by the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, when on World Health Organization day she called for renewed commitment to maternal and newborn health as a moral duty and a critical step towards achieving sustainable development.
This is why it is indeed crucial for the Finance Minister and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy to focus on key broad areas ranging from health care products local production to other fiscal reforms and tax policies, that are aimed at improved fiscal governance, to local production of goods especially health care products and enhancement of economic growth.
Clearly, the Coordinating minister of the economy may have come up with a tough decision but if well pursued and implemented, we can boost revenue in health care products local production. It can equally be the litmus test needed to reposition other local industries from steel to tyre manufacturing and so on to come on stream and promote sustainable development of our country.
That way, even President Bola Tinubu who appointed the investment banker as Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy will be happy along with fellow Nigerians that a framework for change has been built for generations yet unborn.
Dr. Ovie Edomi, a Journalist, Mass Communication Trainer, former Publicity Secretary of Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria as well as the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of South South international Magazine lives in Lagos
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