President to Issue Executive Order to Protect Medical Manufacturing, Stem Further Exits

•FG agrees on restriction of needles, syringes importation  

•Secures deal with local firms on accessibility, affordability, quality of healthcare products  

•Afrimedical, HMA, others laud historic intervention

James Emejo and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu will soon unveil an Executive Order seeking to protect medical equipment manufacturing companies operating in the country, THISDAY learnt yesterday.

The move is seen as a proactive measure by the current administration to stop manufacturing firms from further exiting the country due to an alleged hostile operating environment.

The executive order, which is being prepared by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, as well as the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, will incorporate practicable solutions, quick wins, and medium and long-term solutions to completely and permanently resolve the challenges confronting manufacturing in the country.

The measures may also require a reduction or outright ban on the importation of syringes and needles into the country.

Speaking at the end of a meeting with medical syringe and needles manufacturers in Abuja, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Tunji Alausa, alongside the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, said there was an honest conversation with the stakeholders. Alausa said an agreement was reached based on the directive of the president to reduce the cost of pharmaceutical products and medical supplies in the country.

The minister said, “We just had a very good meeting with the needle and syringes manufacturers in Nigeria – the five companies that are still operating today.

“We explored and discussed many practicable solutions where we can begin to have some quick wins; some immediate solutions that we will be incorporating in the executive order, which the president has asked us to work on, as well as medium and long-term solutions on how we can get this problem completely and permanently resolved.

“Everyone was happy at the end of the meeting and we believe we have addressed all the issues that will put this industry on the path of sustainability, where they can begin to create durable and well-paying jobs for our citizens – and where we would have needles and syringes that are of high quality, that would not be harming our citizens as they go to our hospitals or healthcare facilities to seeks care.”

Uzoka-Anite said the president remained determined to remove all bottlenecks impeding the industrialisation of the economy.

She said, “The meeting today is one of those in which after deliberations, we have been able to remove the bottlenecks affecting the needles and syringe industry.”

She assured the health devices and instrument manufacturers that the outcome of their deliberation would be expedited through policy responses.

The minister said the challenges confronting the manufacturing space were not knotty. She said that what was required was little policy changes, hence, the need to dialogue with the operators to enable the government to deploy the right policy intervention.

Uzoka-Anite also said, “The mandate we have been given by the president is to fix every problem in Nigeria; every problem affecting manufacturers in every segment of the country.

“Last Wednesday, at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, we took the healthcare sector specifically to understand what their challenges are. And the mandate the president gave us was that we should go and fix it as quickly as possible.

“The president intends to ensure that, one, the prices of manufactured medicines drop, and people have greater access to these medicines, and that they are more affordable and of higher quality.

“I can assure you that everything that we discussed here will be taken and expedited and this is the only assurance I can give to you.”

The meeting was attended by major health equipment manufacturers, including Afrimedical Manufacturing and Supplies Limited and HMA Medical Limited, among others.

Chairman, Medical Syringe and Needles Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Lanre Shittu, described the meeting as a landmark engagement that would positively impact the health sector.

Shittu said, “This is a historical day. We made history here today because we’ve been trying to address this issue that has been affecting the syringe and needle sector in the last six to seven years.

“You recall that a few weeks ago, one of the companies shut down. But following the intervention of Mr. President and the help of the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, and Minister of State for Health, among others, we’ve been able to sit down and have an honest and heart-to-heart discussion and they provided practical solutions that would resolve all our issues and also improve on the things that we are doing and move this country towards self-sustenance.”

Shittu added, “I see that before the next three to five years, we would be net exporters of a lot of medical products. And we thank and appreciate what Mr. President has done for us.

“The bottom-line is that this issue is a health and national security issue. Nigeria needs to become self-reliant in this sector. I have been working on this policy for seven years but the way Mr. President and both ministers handled the issue today is worthy of commendation, honestly.

“They proffered solutions and are committed to helping us achieve our goals. I think the world needs to know that.”

Chairman, Afrimedical, Mr. Mofid Karameh, described the day as memorable, adding that the proposed executive order will revolutionise health sector investment with the attendant impact on the economy.

Karameh told THISDAY, “First, we like to thank Mr. President for the executive order to protect, and also both ministers.  This is the beginning of moving the industry forward. The effort will have a ripple effect on the economy.”

He added, “After a long time waiting and many factories have closed down, today, we got an executive order from Mr. President to protect this industry and reduce the prices of medical products for all Nigerians.

“Today is a memorable day for all of us, for them to take this decision to reduce or ban the importation of needles and syringes completely.

“This is a big achievement for Nigeria and Africa and to promote the industry in Nigeria here. Nigeria is the hope of supply for other West African regions and with this we hope the boom will return and the industry will resume supplying again to other countries.”

Karameh said all the manufacturing companies in Nigeria could satisfy domestic needs as well as cover the rest of Africa.

He said, “Before now, our biggest problem was the smuggling of sub-standard products into the country. All the products that are coming into Nigeria are sub-standard.

“Today, we are producing to international standards, which are inspected by NAFDAC and the Ministry of Health.

“Today is a big achievement whereby we can protect the health of Nigerian citizens by giving them products of international standards.”

Managing Director, Afrimedical, Mr. Akin Oyeniran, said, “It was a great meeting; the meeting was very effective and the government has shown the motivation that they want to bring back the industry.

“We have been able to put our problems forward to them and they’ve come up with a quick solution and they will be working on it.”