Despite efforts led by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), there is still a spike in fake and adulterated drugs and food products in Nigeria.

Speaking in an interview with The Guardian, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bloom Healthcare, Chimezie Anyakora, said the situation persists because of criminal elements that are after personal gain.

Anyakora, who is a Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, said: “As long as there are human beings on earth, there will be criminals. As long as there are criminals there will always be an attempt to do illicit things for personal gain. Also, it is good to note that the phenomenon of fake and adulterated drugs and food is a global issue. It is a pity that despite all the effort put in place, the phenomenon is still on the rise.”

Anyakora noted that the solution to the problem lies in having a very tough penalty for such offences and using people as examples to discourage others.

“Unfortunately, I think the law is a bit lenient on the criminals involved in this. Also, it is good to educate the population that it is a collective duty; if you see something you should say something,” he added.

Asked if fake and adulterated medicines could be totally eradicated, Anyakora said: “I am not sure it will be totally eradicated but it can be reduced to the barest minimum. Bad actors will always try it out. Even in very advanced countries it is not entirely eradicated.”

Speaking on the issue of high cost and scarcity of essential medicines, he said: “I think we have to put it in context. Nigeria just devalued its currency and the price of most things went up, including the cost of medicines. Even though we manufacture over 30 per cent of the medicines we use, we import almost all the pharmaceutical input so we are heavily dependent on foreign exchange. Certainly, this is a great worry since most people cannot afford to buy basic medicines that they need for survival.”

To make essential drugs affordable in Nigeria, Anyakora said there is a need to have more local manufacturing of drugs, including Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and other pharmaceutical key starting materials. He stated that when these are localised, it would be easier to work towards reducing the cost of essential medicines. He also said that in the immediate term, the government should step in and stock hospitals with essential medicines. “Even if they are not entirely free they can be subsidised to make them affordable,” he said.

Reacting to new partnerships Bloom Healthcare has entered into as well as the recognitions the company has received from different bodies, Anyakora said the recognitions were because of its contribution to public health on the continent.

He noted: “We are certainly very happy with this and it serves as a spur to do more. The team at Bloom Public Health is unique. We have a set of individuals who are fully aligned with the vision of mobilising African talents to solve African public health needs on the continent. They put in a lot and work above and beyond the call of duty. When these awards come, they become a reward for hard work and validation of the vision.

“Also, we have been involved in a lot of partnerships over the years. We believe we need to combine unique strengths of different organisations to achieve a much bigger impact that a single organisation cannot achieve on its own. This has been a model that has helped us scale.

“Lately, we partnered with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). We are particularly excited about this partnership because with it we intend to contribute to making Africa vaccine independent.”

Indeed, IVI and Bloom Public Health Group recently announced a new partnership to accelerate vaccine equity and strengthen health security across Africa. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) formalised the collaboration, leveraging IVI’s global scientific expertise and Bloom’s on-the-ground knowledge to build a more resilient African vaccine ecosystem.

Anyakora said the partnership would drive joint initiatives in critical areas, including vaccine research and development, regulatory system strengthening, local manufacturing capacity, and public health implementation.

“This partnership is a significant step towards our shared vision of a world where safe and effective vaccines are accessible to everyone.

“By uniting IVI’s end-to-end vaccine development capabilities with Bloom’s deep local networks, we can co-create sustainable systems that directly improve health outcomes and health security for African nations,” said Prof. Nicaise Ndembi, Deputy Director General and Africa Regional Director of IVI.

On his part, Anyakora emphasised the partnership’s role in advancing African health sovereignty, saying: “We are excited to join forces with IVI to empower African-led health solutions.”

This collaboration is a direct catalyst towards the continent’s goal of manufacturing 60 per cent of its required vaccines locally by 2040. By combining our strengths, we will not only ensure more equitable access to vaccines but also build the foundational capacity for Africa to control its own health destiny.”

He said the IVI-Bloom partnership aims to create stronger, more self-reliant health systems across Africa, better equipped to meet current public health needs and respond to future emergencies.

He added: “When I look back over the last five years, I can say that Bloom Public Health has been transformative. We have contributed immensely to the public health space in Nigeria and on the continent. What is unique about our contribution is that they are catalytic and tend to open a wide road that attracts other players to do more.

“Let me share a few of our contributions. Bloom Public Health conceptualised and developed the strategy of the pharmaceutical intervention of the IMPACT project in Nigeria. We spent over two years working with the National Assembly and key players in the Ministry of Health to ensure that the project is owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria. We implemented this project for over a year.

“As someone who has been in the pharmaceutical sector in Nigeria for over 15 years, this is the most consequential intervention. We mobilised interest, contributed technically and aligned many manufacturers towards a new possibility.

“Another impactful work we did was our supply chain intervention programme that has stimulated in different states the idea of Drug Management Agency. We worked with Zipline and Sterling Bank in a very innovative technology-driven concept that made medicines available to facilities across the states we worked in.

“Also, currently we are working on an amazing project called Lab Optimisation programme. Here, we are making diagnostics accessible to the underserved. We are piloting this in a few states but we hope that this unique health financing model will contribute immensely to Universal Health Coverage.

“In summary, without sounding immodest, Bloom Public Health has contributed its quota and this is just the tip of the iceberg. At the continental level we are working with both the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) African Union Development Agency (AUDA) and New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) to transform the health system on the continent.”