The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate, has met with the representatives and CEOs of Pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria over the surge in the prices of medicines.
This meeting which was held at the 64th National Council for Health, #NCH64, in Ekiti was to listen and understand the perspectives of pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria better so that workable solutions can be found in the national public interest.
The National Council of Health is the apex policy-making body in the Nigerian healthcare sector. According to Pate, the federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is working towards policy actions that may address the high prices of medicines, especially for the most vulnerable Nigerians.
He stated that the federal government, as part of its agenda, is keen to find ways to reverse the hardship of Nigerians in this regard. A critical focus of Nigeria’s Health sector renewal is unlocking value chains of which the ‘Unlocking Healthcare Value-chain initiative’ was recently created.
What He Said
- “We are concerned about the high out-of-pocket expenses Nigerians experience in order to access medicines and other pharmaceutical products.”
- “Our intent is to stimulate private sector-led, sustainable, local production of critical health products.”
- “We have scheduled an invitation-only meeting next week with key national actors in the industry to follow up and find workable solutions.”
Following widespread concerns raised by Nigerians regarding the escalating costs of medicines and its impact on health and the overall cost of living, Nairametrics highlights that both customers and pharmacists attribute the surge in medicine prices to factors such as inflation rates, foreign exchange fluctuations, and the exit of pharmaceutical companies from the Nigerian market.
Urgent appeals are being made to the government for prompt intervention.