In June this year, President Bola Tinubu signed an Executive Order to strengthen Nigeria's health system by exempting pharmaceutical machinery, equipment, goods, and accessories from tariffs and excise duties. This move aimed to reduce production costs and make healthcare products more affordable.
The policy has been hailed by some as a critical step in addressing the multifaceted challenges confronting the sector. Key players in the industry point to a complex web of economic pressures--foreign exchange fluctuations, inflation, reliance on drug imports, the elimination of fuel subsidies, and the recent exit of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc--as major factors contributing to the steep rise in medication prices.
According to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, the order is pivotal to the success of the initiative for unlocking the healthcare value chain, which was approved in October 2023 by President Tinubu.
This initiative is laudable, as the order pivots towards market-based incentives to encourage medical industrialisation. It aims to reduce the costs of medical products through import substitution over time, create and retain economic value, and enable job creation in the healthcare value chain.
However, two months later, the impact on the ground tells a different story. Instead of relief, Nigerians are experiencing an unrelenting rise in the cost of healthcare products. The high prices of vital medications and medical devices remain largely unchanged, casting doubt over the effectiveness of this policy.
The cost of vital medications and essential medical devices--such as diagnostic imaging machines, laboratory equipment, surgical instruments, ECG machines, ventilators, syringes, needles, gloves, medical dressings, and diagnostic kits for malaria and HIV--shows no signs of abating.
It is worrisome to acknowledge that a large portion of people in the informal sector are not covered by health insurance, and the spiraling costs of medicine are proving catastrophic.
The ambition behind the policy was clear: reduce reliance on expensive imports, stimulate local manufacturing, and generate jobs in the healthcare sector. But ambition alone is not enough. Nigerians need swift, decisive, and effective action that matches the urgency of the crisis unfolding in hospitals and clinics across the country.
As a newspaper, we recognise that affordability is a significant issue. People's incomes are strained, and they face difficult choices between food, fuel, and drugs--all of which have seen dramatic price increases.
Consider the case of those living with diabetes. As this newspaper recently reported, insulin prices have surged by more than 800 percent, plunging many into a desperate struggle to afford their medication. The sharp rise in prices, coupled with an economic downturn, has left individuals battling chronic conditions in a perilous position--some have even been forced to abandon their treatment or resort to dangerous alternatives.
Alarmingly, a pack of common antibiotics now costs more than the national monthly minimum wage.
Meanwhile, the government set a 30-day deadline for the development of a harmonisation implementation framework with the Ministries of Finance, Industry, Trade, and Investment.
In the considered opinion of this newspaper, we must not allow this Executive Order to suffer the same fate as the alleged $100 billion health fund, which, during the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, failed to make a significant impact.
It is imperative that government agencies such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) move quickly and collaboratively to implement this Executive Order in full.
We strongly suggest that the details and modalities of the Executive Order be well thought out, providing holistic guidelines for its implementation without conflicting or contradictory issues.
Given the potential impact of delays on the cost of already high-priced medications and the livelihood of Nigerians, we are overtly concerned about the apparent lack of progress, especially as the 30-day window has elapsed.
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We must also address the uncertainty regarding the immediate effects of the Executive Order on drug prices.
From this perspective, we call on the government to expedite action on the framework that will guide relevant agencies in operationalising and implementing the Executive Order, because people are dying, even as drug prices continue to spiral upward.
We also urge the Ministry of Health to create awareness and enlightenment about its policies and how to appropriate them.
As we await the implementation of this Executive Order, we are left with questions that demand answers: Do government officials fully grasp the scope of this policy? Is there a plan in place to make this Executive Order a reality? How much longer will Nigerians have to wait for the relief they were promised?
The stakes could not be higher. This is not just about healthcare policy--it's about life and death for millions of Nigerians. The government must act now to fulfill its promises before more lives are needlessly lost.
