The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening local pharmaceutical manufacturing as part of efforts to achieve medicine security, improve healthcare resilience and drive sustainable economic development in Nigeria and across Africa.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, stated this while declaring open the 8th Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo (NPME), organised by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN) in Lagos.
The event was held at the Harbour Point Event Centre, Victoria Island, with the theme, “Regional Manufacturing: Advancing Africa’s Pharma and Life-Science Sovereignty through Localization.”
Salako said the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside changes in global healthcare financing, had demonstrated the need for Nigeria and other African countries to build stronger domestic capacity to produce medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and other critical health technologies.
“Our conversation can no longer be limited to whether we can access medicines when global supply chains are functioning. The more fundamental question is whether we can produce what our people need when those supply chains are disrupted,” he said.
The minister said medicine security should be regarded as a national resilience and sovereignty issue, rather than solely as a healthcare-sector concern.
“Medicine security is therefore not simply a health-sector objective; it is an issue of national resilience and sovereignty,” Salako added.
According to him, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has introduced several measures aimed at revitalising local pharmaceutical manufacturing and strengthening the healthcare value chain.
He cited the Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) and the Presidential Executive Order for Pharmaceutical and Allied Sectors as key interventions designed to support domestic production.
Salako disclosed that PVAC had attracted commitments of about $2 billion at single-digit interest rates, with approximately 50 Nigerian health companies at advanced stages of funding discussions.
He said the initiative was targeting at least 70 per cent local production of essential healthcare products by 2030.
The minister also disclosed that 87 local manufacturers were benefiting from the implementation of the Presidential Executive Order, which provides zero tariffs on pharmaceutical machinery, active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients across almost 1,000 Harmonised System codes.
He said the order also provided fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, including tariff relief and market-shaping mechanisms, to encourage domestic production.
Salako further highlighted government efforts to expand local production of active pharmaceutical ingredients, vaccines, biologics, diagnostics and other essential health commodities.
These efforts, he said, included the operationalisation of the NIPRD API Capacity Building and Concept Production Centre, the development of commercial API manufacturing capacity and initiatives aimed at localising the production of HIV, hepatitis and syphilis diagnostic products.
The minister called for increased investment in research and development, particularly in the utilisation of Nigeria’s phytomedicinal resources.
He cautioned that local production should go beyond importing active ingredients and other materials before assembling finished products in Nigeria.
“Localization must not mean simply importing the active ingredients, packaging materials and technologies and assembling the final product here. We must progressively build capacity across the entire value chain—from research and raw materials to formulation, quality assurance, manufacturing, packaging and distribution,” Salako said.
He said such an approach would ensure that Nigeria developed genuine manufacturing capabilities rather than relying on limited forms of localisation.
The minister also identified the establishment of Medipool, Nigeria’s national Group Purchasing Organisation for essential medicines and medical commodities, as another measure that could strengthen the domestic pharmaceutical industry.
According to him, Medipool would help create predictable and large-scale demand for local manufacturers by aggregating procurement, negotiating bulk purchases and improving supply-chain efficiency.
Salako urged pharmaceutical manufacturers, researchers, investors and development partners to increase collaboration on regional manufacturing and take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area to expand their markets.
He said Nigeria’s pharmaceutical transformation would require sustained investment, innovation, regulatory alignment and greater integration of African markets.
“We must move from dependency to capability, from fragmented markets to regional scale, and from localization to genuine African pharmaceutical sovereignty,” he said.
“Our health security will be built not only in hospitals and laboratories, but also in our factories, universities, research centres, supply chains and investment decisions,” the minister added.
Salako, while formally declaring the 8th Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo open, expressed confidence that sustained collaboration among stakeholders would contribute to improving medicine security and strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare value chain.
The expo, according to the organisers, is expected to provide a platform for stakeholders in the pharmaNigeriaceutical and life-sciences sectors to advance discussions on local manufacturing and regional pharmaceutical capacity.
