The Federal Government of Nigeria has set its sights on increasing local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and medical devices to 70% by 2030.
This is in line with the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate disclosed this on Sunday in a video post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) handle.
He also hinted that the initiative seeks to ensure that a large portion of the vaccines consumed in the country are also produced locally.
”This historic development would not have been possible without the critical work of the presidential initiative to unlock the healthcare value chain, PAC, undertaken since its establishment by the president in November 2023 under the leadership of its national coordinator Dr. Abdu Mukhtar , which has led to several high-value investment commitments and for the initiative that has the mandate to increase local manufacturing of pharmaceutical products in Nigeria to at least 70% of locally consumed pharmaceuticals and a large portion of the vaccines that we consume by 2030,” the minister said.
According to him, the initiative also aims to significantly increase the number of full-time employees working in life sciences manufacturing by tens of thousands, up from the current workforce of approximately 20,000
He said to achieve this, the government has partnered with the Empower School of Health, Geneva, in Switzerland, to set up the Empower Academy Nigeria, a regional training hub that will build skills in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
The minister said, “Only a few days ago, the foremost Swiss Academy, the Empower School of Health Geneva, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a regional training hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing in Nigeria, which will be launched very soon. It will be named Empower Academy Nigeria.”
