APC Chieftain Urges President Tinubu To Tackle High Cost Of Essential Drugs

Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Osun, has urged President Bola Tinubu to bring down the cost of essential drugs.

At a press briefing in Osogbo on Sunday, Oyintiloye pointed out that there are many essential drugs that common people are unable to purchase due to extremely high prices, driven by a weaker naira against foreign currencies and higher inflation rates.

Oyintiloye cited that the exit of British pharma major GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and some other drug makers from Nigeria also hiked prices of essential drugs such as amlodipine, Augmentin, paracetamol, Exforge and Coartem.

GSK, known for brands like Panadol and Sensodyne, exited the Nigerian market earlier this year, after 51 years of operation, due to the foreign exchange crisis, which affected its business. GSK Nigeria's sales dropped to N7.75 billion from N14.8 billion in the first half of the year. The company decided to shut down its Nigerian unit in August.

"When the local currency weakens against foreign currencies, the expenses incurred in procuring these essential medical supplies rise, consequently driving up the overall prices of medicines in the country," Oyintiloye said, Vanguard reported. "The scarcity or limited availability of foreign exchange exacerbates as a ripple effect, forcing manufacturers to compensate by increasing the prices of medicines to cover their higher operational costs."

Oyintiloye said high prices of essential drugs make them unaffordable for the common people, leading to an increase in the country's death rate.

"Insulin, for instance, is now between N12,000 and N14,000, and some of the patients might need two or three of it in a month," he noted. "Also, Ventolin inhaler for asthmatic patients rose from N2,000 to N9,000, and if a patient is earning N30,000 per month, how will he or she cope?"

Oyintiloye urged the government to invest more in the health sector, address the foreign exchange issue, remove duty tax from essential drugs, support local production and create a business-friendly environment for pharmaceutical companies.

President Tinubu assured international investors that their investment will be safe in Nigeria, during the G20 Compact with Africa Conference held in Germany last month.

Last week, the federal government blamed low export revenue for Nigeria's foreign exchange scarcity, stressing that it will further diversify the economy. Oyintiloye, citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics, said the value of medicines imported into Nigeria rose 68% to N81.8 billion between July and September.