By Gom Mirian
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pledged to strengthen and expand domestic research to boost the nation’s production of pharmaceuticals and vaccines.
Dr. Salma Annas, the Special Adviser to the President on Health, made this statement at a virtual meeting with the theme, “Accelerating local vaccines manufacturing in Nigeria challenges, opportunities and prospects,” organised by the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, with assistance from the governments of the European Union and Bulgaria.
According to her, the Federal Government plans to work with stakeholders to encourage and fund local research for new drugs, vaccines and disease epidemiology to determine the best approaches to disease management within Nigeria.
She said: “The COVID pandemic experience has given us opportunities also to deep dive and understand the weaknesses that we have in the health systems and also to renew our efforts and commitment on the great need to domesticate and ensure that we have local manufacturing of vaccines in Nigeria.
“The new government under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to strengthen and ensure the local mmanufacturing of vaccines, medicines, consumables and all medical products in Nigeria. As we have today, 60% of our local productions and consumables are imported. So the effort and the commitment is to see that we reverse that.”
She said the President would ensure that a national plan and roadmap for Vaccine Research Development and local production in Nigeria will be given the needed political will for successful implementation.
The Director – General, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Dr. Obi Adigwe, said in his remarks that there are enormous opportunities for local vaccine manufacturing in the country.
He noted that the development of a sustainable ecosystem in terms of research, business and policymaking will support the success of dynamic local manufacturing companies in Nigeria and throughout Africa.
Adigwe said: “We’ll keep pushing until we find three to five thriving organizations that will not only produce vaccines for Nigeria but for the entire African continent, while also creating a sustainable environment and ecosystem that will support research, business and policymaking that will ensure the success of these organisations and creating a framework that will ensure the entire continent is protected.”
Professor Lila Amour, speaking on behalf of the European Union Ambassadors, stated that the EU is dedicated to the project to support indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturers in Nigeria.
