Domestic Production and Procurement of Medicines in Nigeria

The development of a productive, effective and efficient domestic pharmaceutical industry holds huge potentials for a local economy; job opportunities, trans-border trade benefits, improved national earning capacity and a strategy to repress medicine importation. Additionally, Target 3.8 of the Sustainable Development Goals specifically seeks “Access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all”, plainly underscoring the importance of ensuring access to essential medicines for all. Although many African countries, including Nigeria, struggle to meet the target for medicine accessibility and affordability, this book reports on-going efforts to improve the situation in Nigeria. We present the status of drug production in the country with emphasis on the local capacity, human resources, R&D investment, intellectual property issues, and the degree of interaction for innovation among the key stakeholders. Additionally, the book articulates key challenges impeding drug production and how they could be addressed through apt and plausible policies.