FG Strengthens Local Pharmaceutical Manufacturing to Advance Medicine Security Under NHSRII Lagos

PRESS RELEASE

FG Strengthens Local Pharmaceutical Manufacturing to Advance Medicine Security Under NHSRII Lagos

| 28 September 2026

The Federal Government is strengthening local pharmaceutical manufacturing as part of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII) to improve medicine security, build a more resilient health system and drive sustainable economic development in Nigeria and across Africa.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, stated this on Monday while declaring open the 8th Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo (NPME) at Harbour Point Event Centre, Victoria Island.

The Expo was organised by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN) under the theme, “Regional Manufacturing: Advancing Africa’s Pharma and Life-Science Sovereignty through Localisation.”

Dr. Salako said the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in global healthcare financing had reinforced the need for Nigeria and Africa to build stronger domestic capacity to produce medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and other critical health technologies.

He noted that the conversation could no longer stop at whether medicines are accessible when global supply chains are working. “The more fundamental question is whether we can produce what our people need when those supply chains are disrupted.

Medicine security is therefore not simply a health-sector objective; it is an issue of national resilience and sovereignty,” he said. He said the Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was advancing the agenda through the Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) and the Presidential Executive Order for Pharmaceutical and Allied Sectors.

According to him, PVAC has secured commitments of about US$2 billion at single-digit interest rates, with about 50 Nigerian health firms in advanced funding discussions, while targeting at least 70 per cent local production of essential healthcare products by 2030. He added that 87 local manufacturers were benefiting from the Executive Order, which provides zero tariffs on pharmaceutical machinery, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients across almost 1,000 Harmonised System codes, alongside other fiscal and non-fiscal measures.

Dr. Salako also highlighted efforts to expand local production of APIs, vaccines, biologics and diagnostics, including the operationalisation of the NIPRD API Capacity Building and Concept Production Centre, development of commercial API manufacturing capacity and initiatives to localise HIV, hepatitis and syphilis diagnostics.

He called for greater investment in research and development, particularly in Nigeria’s phytomedicinal resources, and stressed that localisation must go beyond final-product assembly.

“We must progressively build capacity across the entire value chain—from research and raw materials to formulation, quality assurance, manufacturing, packaging and distribution.

That is how localisation becomes genuine capability,” he said. The Minister said Medipool, Nigeria’s national Group Purchasing Organisation for essential medicines and medical commodities, would help create predictable, large-scale demand for domestic manufacturers through aggregated procurement and bulk purchasing.

He urged manufacturers, researchers, investors and development partners to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area to expand markets and strengthen competitiveness.

“We must move from dependency to capability, from fragmented markets to regional scale, and from localisation to genuine African pharmaceutical sovereignty,” he said.

In line with the Renewed Hope Agenda and the NHSRII, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare remains committed to strengthening a health system that saves lives, reduces both physical and financial pain, and produces health for all Nigerians.