Nigeria’s 70% local drug production 2030 target not feasible – Pharmacists

Stakeholders in Nigeria's pharmaceutical sector have voiced significant skepticism regarding the nation's ability to achieve its ambitious goal of producing 70% of its consumed pharmaceuticals and vaccines locally by 2030. They cite persistent challenges that continue to impede the growth of domestic manufacturing.

Key obstacles identified include inadequate infrastructure, unstable power supply, difficulties in accessing foreign exchange (forex) and its inherent volatility, and a heavy reliance on imported raw materials, particularly Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). These factors collectively hinder the scaling up of local drug production capacity within the projected timeframe.

Despite various government policies, tax incentives, and executive orders aimed at stimulating domestic production, stakeholders argue that the sector has not received the necessary level of investment or consistent policy implementation. For instance, an executive order signed in June 2024 introduced zero tariffs, excise duties, and VAT on imported pharmaceutical products and inputs, intended to boost local manufacturing. However, industry experts suggest these measures alone are insufficient without deeper structural reforms.

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Let me be candid with Nigerians. At the current pace, we cannot achieve 70% local pharmaceutical production by 2030. Four years is an ambitious timeline, and ambition without structural reform is merely a wish list.

The Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain, approved in October 2023, also aims to increase local manufacturing to 70% by 2030, alongside boosting the life sciences workforce and establishing new manufacturing platforms. While initiatives like the Pharmaceutical Value Chain Acceleration Committee (PVAC) are designed to improve coordination, the effectiveness of these programs in meeting the 2030 target remains in question.

Ayuba Tanko, President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, candidly stated that at the current pace, the 70% target by 2030 is not feasible. He described the four-year timeline as ambitious and warned that "ambition without structural reform is merely a wish list." While acknowledging that increased local pharmaceutical production is achievable in the long term, meeting the specific 2030 target requires a more robust and transformative approach than currently evident.

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We have seen tax waivers, executive orders, and policy pronouncements, but none of these have translated into the manufacturing capacity expansion that this target demands. That said, I will not say it is impossible. What I am saying is that it requires