Nigeria’s Drug Supply at Risk as Manufacturers Rely on Imported Ingredients

ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria’s heavy dependence on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is exposing its medicine supply to global disruptions, price volatility and trade restrictions, stakeholders have warned, calling for investment in local production of essential drug ingredients.

The warning was raised on Friday at a meeting in Abuja on accelerating domestic API production for priority essential medicines in Nigeria, organised by Nigeria Health Watch in partnership with the World Bank Group.

Speaking at the meeting, Olumide Okunola of the World Bank Group said many Nigerian pharmaceutical manufacturers depended on imported APIs and other raw materials, leaving local medicine production vulnerable to disruptions in international supply chains.

APIs are the substances in medicines responsible for producing their intended therapeutic effects. Although Nigeria has manufacturers producing finished medicines, many rely on imported ingredients to make those products.

Okunola said the COVID-19 pandemic had demonstrated the risks of depending heavily on international supply chains, as global disruptions could affect the availability and affordability of essential medicines. He argued that Nigeria did not need to manufacture every pharmaceutical ingredient locally but should identify priority APIs that could feasibly be produced domestically to guarantee a minimum level of supply.

He also identified inadequate infrastructure, unreliable electricity, limited access to finance and regulatory bottlenecks as major obstacles to local pharmaceutical production. According to him, Nigeria could build on its existing industrial and petrochemical capacity to develop domestic manufacturing of selected pharmaceutical ingredients.

Okunola urged policymakers to align health and industrial policies, prioritise APIs used in essential medicines and create an enabling environment to attract private investment. The discussions highlighted the need to strengthen domestic pharmaceutical production as part of broader efforts to improve medicine security and reduce Nigeria’s exposure to external supply shocks.