Drugs: Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria Seeks Solutions to Poverty, Unemployment

Funmi Ogundare

President of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Prof Cyril Usifoh, yesterday stressed the need for the country to address the issues of poverty, unemployment and others plaguing the Nigerian society, saying these issues are affecting the pharmaceutical sector negatively leading to the high cost of drugs.

Usifoh, who was a guest on The Morning Show on Arise News Channel, expressed concern that many pharmaceutical industries are finding it challenging to secure loans to power their industry as required due to high cost of production.

He expressed hope that investors would come into the country so as to kick-start production and ensure that the country is self-sufficient.

“If we are self-sufficient for up to 60 or 70 per cent of our medicines, it will be a great goal to achieve because we have people who are willing to think in this direction,” he said.

 He stated that he met with the society’s past president recently to brainstorm, saying President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should have a special adviser on medicine that will direct the course of how the investments will be done.

“The government will definitely listen to such advice and in that way, we will make sure that investment are appropriately directed to our needs in the country,” he said.

The president expressed concern about double taxation, saying for medicine to be cheap, there is need to lower the taxes and give incentives to manufacturers and distributors of the drugs.

“It is not enough to manufacture these drugs, but if they don’t get to the final consumers, it could be a problem,” Usifoh said.

He expressed confidence that when the Society meets with the government to look at the opportunities and value chain when the medicine is produced and gets to the final consumers, it will enable them to stamp out the menace of fake and counterfeit drugs.

Usifoh advocated for a collaboration between the Pharmacy Council and NAFDAC to stamp out open drug sale.

On setting up an API factory and getting a loan, the president expressed confidence that if the government has the will to set up the petrochemicals, there will be a large exporter of it out of the country.

“This is why I said we want to see the executive order and legislation. We want to contribute and tell the government what to do. I believe strongly that it will be a money-spinner for the country. Most importantly, we must produce the petrochemicals that will enable us get our Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). That is exactly what countries like India and China did and they import some of their APIs,” he said.