Health Commissioners Highlight Sector’s Potential For Nigeria

Nigeria Health Commissioners’ Forum has said the country’s health sector can become the net contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP).

At the 4th leadership breakfast meeting the forum organised in Ekiti recently, the chairperson of the forum, Oyebanji Filani, said the group has facilitated over $5.5 million worth of business in the healthcare sector in the last three years.

He said, ‘‘Yobe, Kaduna, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Niger and Ekiti are the pilot states where the programme is running since 2021. Between 2021 and today, we have done business together of just a little over $5.5 million using the current exchange rate. If we had this discussion, three months ago, that $5.5 million would probably be $8.5 million. $5.5 million worth of business that we have done, five states.

“Now, imagine, if we scale this across the entire nation in terms of the resources that are available to build the capacity of the pharmaceutical companies and to move the health sector to becoming the net contributor to the Nigerian GDP.  Sokoto for instance, started with one percent of their primary healthcare facilities covered now they have about 12. You have Niger State that moved from 19 to 25. Yobe has done exceptionally well, 70 percent of the primary healthcare facilities are now covered under this programme. Ekiti is also moving in the right direction from 20 percent to 52 percent.”

Also, the chairman of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of MAN (PMG–MAN), Oluwatosin Jolayemi, said local manufacturers of drugs are ready to serve the nation.

In his remarks, the managing director of SKG Pharma Ltd, Okey Akpa, praised ARC-ESM and its CEO, Azuka Okeke, for the high level of commitment they have secured from the pharma group for the implementation of the project.