Health Minister, 36 State Commissioners to Grace 4th African Pharmaceutical Summit

Martins Ifijeh

The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole and the Commissioners for Health of the 36 states of the federation, in conjunction with policy makers, pharmaceutical professionals and key stakeholders in the health sector in Africa are set to grace the 4th African Pharmaceutical Summit and Exhibition billed to hold in Lagos, between 6th to 7th September.

The summit, tagged ‘Driving forward improvement in pharmaceutical industry; a clear framework for investment’, will among other things showcase an array of innovations from the cutting-edge fields of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life science, with over 70 exhibitors complemented by an extensive high level summit agenda involving more than 50 speakers from science, industry and policy.

Speaking during the pre-summit press briefing, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Pharma Africa, Miles Mudzviti, said the summit, which will be hosted by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, will also feature its inaugural forum for health commissioners where key policies of government will be discussed using the peer-review mechanism and sharing of learning experiences by key health policy drivers in Nigeria.

He said the summit was launched to create platforms to facilitate business connections and promote regular dialogue between the industry and government, adding value to the pharmaceutical development agenda.

“It offers a unique platform and meeting place for policy makers, senior pharmaceutical and healthcare industry executives, investors and stakeholders.

“We shall focus on pharmaceutical and healthcare investment landscape in Nigeria, the state of innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, future prospects and barriers for pharmaceutical manufacturing industries in Nigeria, the imperative for the World Health Organisation pre-qualification, future landscape of health insurance, good distribution systems and practise,” he said.

He said this year’s summit reflects the focal points for exhibitions and was accompanied by various sessions designed to provide learning opportunities for players in the industry.

Among individuals and organisations already confirmed to attend the summit are major pharmaceutical organisations in Nigeria, the China Chambers of Commerce for Import and Export Medicines and Health Products, Verband Deutscher Maschinen-und Anlagenbau (VDMA), among others.