NAIP Seeks Policies to Attract Pharmaceutical Investors

Oluchi Chibuzor

With its 27th Annual National conference coming up in Ibadan, Oyo State, from June 4th to 8th, 2024, the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP), has called on the federal government to provide key infrastructure like good road network, energy and intervention funds for local pharmaceutical companies to spring up.

For them, when the government creates an enabling environment more investors would be attracted into the sector.
Speaking ahead of the conference, tagged Oluyole 2024, expected to attract foreign exhibitors from India, Germany and Egypt, the National Chairman, NAIP, Kenneth Onuegbu, said the country was far behind with universal health coverage.

“So, we have assembled a team of very top government, stakeholders, professionals to come and help us address key issues affecting universal health coverage in the country. The level we are as a country, to be honest with you, is that we are far behind. The government has to do quite a lot to address infrastructure, create the enabling environment for companies to thrive and for our industry to thrive.

“We have a lot of gaps honestly, because we cannot be talking about universal health coverage when internally here, we cannot even move forward.
“Let’s take the issue of forex, for example, I can tell you that in the past year, for a country that is heavily dependent on imports, many companies have not even imported a single container.

“When you create that vacuum, what happens out there? You are giving room to faking and adulteration of products, that shouldn’t be the case honestly. Why? Because people cannot even order and when you order you are not even able to pay. And when you eventually see the forex, it is at an extreme end. Who bears the cost?,” he queried.

According to him, “These two key elements as I am talking to you are not there at all. So the government must address it honestly, and to address it, let us also encourage as many companies as possible to establish their own pharmaceutical manufacturing plant right here.”
Corroborating Onuegbu’s view, the chairman planning committee, Mr. Valentine Okelu,  said the event would attract key government stakeholders and professionals to chart the way forward for the sector.