Pharmacists are urging the Federal Government to provide pharmaceutical intervention funds to assist manufacturers in boosting the local production of drugs.
The pharmacists on Wednesday said that such funds would help manufacturers increase production capacity.
According to reports, pharmaceutical stakeholders, under the Federation of Nigerian Pharmaceutical Industry Associations (FeNPIA), in February 2024, urged the federal government to create a N600 billion Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Development Fund at five per cent interest over a minimum tenure of seven to ten years.
According to the body, the fund will support the local production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), vaccines, critical supply chain interventions, and Research & Development (R&D), among others.
The National Chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Wale Oladigbolu, said such a fund should be a long-term intervention that would scale up drug production.
Oladigbolu also said that the funds, if made available by the Federal Government, should cut across industrialists and retailers as well.
In his words;
“The government needs to put investment down for the pharmaceutical industry and support manufacturers that are able to convert our edible starch to pharmaceutical starch.
“This intervention is very crucial and vital to transform drug production in the country. It should be a long tenure fund, in such a way that beneficiaries won’t be under pressure to pay back, and it must be made available to manufacturers and also retailers who need support.”
