.Collaboration would ensure access to affordable, quality medicines, says Adeyeye
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has said that it is working with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to ensure a sustainable access to affordable and acceptable quality medicines for our citizens
According to NAFDAC, the partnership would help strengthen Local Pharmaceutical manufacturers, reduce the proliferation of substandard and falsified medical products and ultimately guarantee medicines security in the country.
Director General of NAFDAC Prof Mojisola Adeyeye who disclosed this at a joint press conference with the Director General of NHIA, Prof Mohammed Sambo, yesterday in Abuja, noted that under the NHIA Medicine Supply Initiative, 33 drugs would be branded with NHIA inscription and NAFDAC, through the Directorate of Registration and Regulatory Affairs will also ensure that appropriate and adequate labelling of the medicines are met in line with the Agency’s labelling requirements and in accordance with NHIA guidelines.
She stated that the branding of NHIA medicines and other health products was introduced as a way to help eradicate out-of-stock syndrome, as well as ensure quality of its medicines.
Adeyeye noted that the drive to guarantee medicines security has been a deliberate and intentional effort by NAFDAC in the past five years and continues to be on the front burner to ensure that pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities are fit for purpose.
She recalled that NHIA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pharmaceutical Companies and Drugs Management Organizations (DMOs) for production of 33 different drugs to address the perennial problem of out-of-stock syndrome in the nation’s health facilities.
Adeyeye observed that under the initiative, 12 Pharmaceutical companies will be branding 33 products for the health insurance ecosystem in the first phase adding that NHIA has already chosen seven states (Delta, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Niger, Osun and Sokoto States) and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for the pilot phase of this initiative.
She said, “The categories of drugs involved will start from simple to complex, which will be used to address prevailing health conditions in Nigeria, such as malaria, upper respiratory tract infections, childhood illnesses and drugs being used by pregnant women. As mentioned earlier, every drug to be manufactured will be certified and approved by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)- in terms of quality, safety and efficacy.
“The medicines will be tested in the WHO-Prequalified NAFDAC Laboratory. Also, as part of its Post Marketing Surveillance activities, NAFDAC will continue monitoring to ensure that these branded medicines are used exclusively in the nation’s health care facilities. They are not to be found on the shelves for sale”, she added.
The Executive Order 3 (EO3) on support for local content in public procurement by the Federal government requires that all MDAs shall grant preference to local manufacturers of goods and service providers in their procurement of goods and services.
It was based on this collaboration with NAFDAC and in line with Executive Order 3 (EO3), that NHIA worked with Local Pharmaceutical Manufacturers whose manufacturing facilities have been approved by NAFDAC as meeting Good Manufacturing practice (GMP) requirements for the procurement of needed medicines.
Earlier, the Director General of NHIA, Prof Mohammed Sambo said that the branding of medicines and other health products aims to facilitate the supply of affordable, acceptable, accessible, available, and quality medicines and other health products.
He noted that the initiative is to enhance the production of high-quality medicines to inspire users’ confidence and also help to reduce the cost of medicines especially that of intravenous fluids which will reduce by as much as 50 per cent of current market price based on NHIA negotiations with the manufacturers without compromising standards and quality.
