Despite the recent executive order signed by President Bola Tinubu, drug prices in Nigeria remain high, causing concern among pharmacists.
The order, which aims to boost local pharmaceutical production and provide market-based incentives for manufacturers, has yet to deliver the expected relief.
Three months ago, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, shared on his X handle that President Bola Tinubu signed an order to improve Nigeria’s health sector.
The order aims to boost the local production of healthcare items like medicines, medical devices such as needles and syringes, medical textiles, and more.
It also sets up systems like long-term contracts to support local manufacturers. Prof. Pate explained that this step is meant to lower the cost of medical products by reducing imports, create jobs, and keep more money within the country’s economy.
But pharmacists suggest that reducing drug prices will require broader measures.
These include access to low-interest loans, simpler drug importation processes, favorable exchange rates, and improved power supply.
According to them, these steps are crucial to lowering costs and increasing the availability of medications.
Adewale Oladigbolu, a key industry stakeholder, noted that while price fluctuations have stabilized, largely due to a steady exchange rate, drug prices have not decreased.
“We have not witnessed a decrease in drug prices. Instead, we’ve seen more stability in the exchange rate, which has reduced price fluctuations, but prices remain high. Previously, we faced inflation and rising medicine costs.
“While prices are still high, they aren’t changing as often as they did when the exchange rate was unstable. Therefore, we haven’t observed any real effect from the executive order.
“That’s why I always advocate for conducting a baseline study before announcing any policy and checking our progress after implementation. From our perspective, drug prices remain high, and there has been no reduction.”
Gbolagade Iyiola added that the executive order only impacts a small portion of overall drug costs. With approximately 70% of pharmaceuticals still being imported, the price situation remains largely unchanged.
Local production accounts for just 30% of the drugs in the market, and the full implementation of the executive order is still unclear, leaving many wondering when relief will come.
