Pharmaceutical Body Raises Alarm over High Importation of Drugs

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

The National President of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Alhaji Ahmed Yakassai, recently raised the alarm over high rate of drugs have been imported into the country, saying imported drugs account for 70 per cent of drugs in Nigeria.

Yakassai who made the declaration in Ilorin, while speaking with journalists on the state of health development in the country noted that 30 per cent of drugs are being produced locally.

Yakassai was in Ilorin, the state capital to inaugurate the new executive members of the state chapter of the PSN led by Alhaji Bakau Alli.

He explained that this is unacceptable, adding that at least 70 percent of drugs consumed in Nigeria are supposed to be sourced locally.

He attributed the factors hindering local production of drugs to poor or decayed infrastructure, exorbitant taxes and lack of enough will from the government.

He noted that the country has enough human resources and raw materials to achieve the target of producing the drugs locally.

He said with the coming on board of Dangote Petrochemical Company at the end of this year, pharmaceutical industries would be able to source for chemicals locally and improve local production of drugs in the country.

Yakasai pointed out that Ghana with a population of about 23 million people has built a pharmaceutical hub and became importer of drugs.

He wondered why Nigeria with abundant raw materials and human resources could not achieve such feat.

As the custodian of drugs, Yakassai believed in quality of drugs and service to humanity, assuring Nigerians that the issue of quackery and circulation of illicit drugs would be checked.

He also called for collaboration between the academia and the drug manufacturing sector so as to tackle the drug abuse in the country.