To address the lingering challenge of medicine insecurity in the country, a former President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Dr U.N.O. Uwaga, and the immediate past Registrar, Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), Pharm. Elijah Mohammed, have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to appoint a special adviser that will work directly with him on pharmaceutical matters.
Speaking during one of the plenary sessions at the recent Annual National Conference of the PSN, held at the International Conference Centre, Gombe State, Uwaga noted that medicine security is as important as food security in every nation, stressing that Nigeria must vigorously strive to achieve it.
According to Uwaga, the experience of the COVID-19 lockdown has particularly made it paramount for Nigeria to work towards self-reliance on drug production.
In his words, “There is a need to pursue medicine security, just as we are pursuing food security. We need someone in the presidency who will have the president’s ear and discuss issues revolving around the development of the pharmaceutical industry. The president should appoint a special adviser on pharmaceuticals.”
The former PSN president also highlighted the need to curb multiple taxation of the pharmaceutical industry, saying the trend is making drugs to be more expensive, as every tax is pushed to the consumer in form of an increase in price of drugs.
He said, “As a country, we must look at the role of taxation in the price of drugs, especially the duty/tax imposed by customs. The taxes are worrisome and that is why drugs are expensive in Nigeria. The president must look into this.”
Corroborating Uwaga’s observations, Pharm. Mohammed said the appointment of a special adviser on pharmaceuticals was long overdue in the country.
Mohammed, in an exclusive interview with Pharmanews, said: “There is a need to draw the attention of the president to the urgent need for a special adviser on pharmaceuticals. I have been expecting that he will appoint someone who will be putting him in the know on the situation of pharmaceuticals in this country.
“The earlier the president appoints the special adviser on pharmaceuticals, the better for the country because we must take medicine security seriously now than ever before.”
Uwaga and Mohammed’s calls echo those of many other stakeholders in the pharma industry, who, in recent years, have lamented that the Nigerian pharmaceutical sector is faced with several challenges that require the urgent intervention of the government.
Top among the challenges, according to concerned players, include forex scarcity, inadequate capital to prosecute capital projects and high-interest rates.
Other identified challenges include lack of electricity, multiple taxation, and lack of government patronage.
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