From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has predicted that the dream of Nigeria achieving sufficiency in manufacturing of drugs and other pharmaceuticals won’t be realized soon.
This, it said, was because outside water, all other active ingredients being used by pharmaceutical companies for the manufacturing of drugs and other pharmaceuticals are imported.
Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who addressed journalists in Abuja, on the plans for her second term in office, made reference to 2020 COVID-19 lockdown when movements were restricted, hence Nigeria could not access and procure necessary drugs and other active ingredients for pharmaceutical companies.
Few months ago, the NAFDAC boss decried the fact that Nigeria is dependent on other countries for drugs as about 70 per cent of drugs in the country are imported.
She said: “In terms of bringing in shipments of medicine, we import about 70 per cent and each time I think about that, I get depressed in my spirit. Why should we be so dependent on other countries? That doesn’t mean we should not import some but 70 per cent is a lot.”
She maintained that access to medicine is local, hence the need for the relevant authorities to take actions and steps that would increase the opportunity of Nigeria being sufficient in drug manufacturing.
Prof. Adeyeye, however, confirmed that tremendous success was achieved in her previous years in office through the help and support of the President, Staff of the Agency, Ministry of health, as well as partners who have committed themselves to the cause of protecting the health and wellbeing of Nigerians.
She promised that in the coming years, the Agency will leverage on its WHO Maturity Level 3 status to take giant steps and actions that would culminate in the vaccine production in the country among several others actions that would increase the relevance of Nigeria in the comity of nations.
She lamented the effect of insufficient workforce in the efforts of the Agency to strengthen the post-marketing system, thus soliciting for a weaver to recruit more workforce that would strengthen its operations across the country.
