Nigeria Must End 70% Drug Import Dependency, Expert Warns

A global biopharmaceutical executive, Dr Henrietta Ukwu, has called for urgent action to reduce Nigeria’s heavy dependence on imported medicines, warning that the country’s estimated 70 per cent reliance on foreign drugs poses a major threat to health security and economic development.

Ukwu made the call in Ilorin, Kwara State, while delivering a keynote address at the 29th Annual National Conference of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP), where she urged the federal government to deepen support for local pharmaceutical manufacturing as a pathway to national resilience and industrial independence.

Speaking on the theme, “Nigeria’s Pharmaceutical Industry as a Pillar of National Health, Wealth, and Security,” she described the country’s import dependence as “worrisome and unfortunate,” insisting that no nation can achieve true healthcare sovereignty while relying heavily on external supply chains.

“Health is Wealth,” Ukwu said, stressing that domestic production of medicines, vaccines and medical devices remains critical to sustainable development and medicine security.

She said that Nigeria possesses the human capital and natural resources needed to build a competitive pharmaceutical industry but said these strengths remain underutilised due to structural and infrastructural challenges.

According to her, strengthening regulatory systems, improving infrastructure, and building investor confidence would help attract funding into local drug production, particularly in the manufacture of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs).

“When investors see that manufacturers are meeting world standards, they will put their money into the industry, and this will boost production,” she said.

Ukwu also urged a shift from import-dependent models to partnership-driven industrialisation, highlighting ongoing collaborations such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) partnership with Fidson Healthcare Plc, the EU-backed ELMiN initiative, France-supported Qualimed Project, and Nigeria’s cooperation with Brazil on pharmaceutical production.

She noted that several local projects, including Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries’ API plant in Ogun State, signal growing momentum in domestic manufacturing capacity.

However, she warned that achieving Nigeria’s pharmaceutical ambitions would require addressing key bottlenecks, including poor electricity supply, high energy costs, limited access to affordable financing, and shortages of critical raw materials.

Ukwu further advocated targeted policy support, including foreign exchange relief, import duty exemptions on pharmaceutical inputs, and stronger regional regulatory harmonisation to boost exports of Nigerian-made drugs.

Also speaking at the conference, the National Chairman of NAIP, Bankole Ezebuilo, warned that no country can outsource its health security and remain sustainable, stressing the need for an integrated pharmaceutical ecosystem.

“A nation that cannot produce its own medicines is a nation negotiating with its health,” Ezebuilo said, calling for stronger collaboration between industry, government and academia.

He also cautioned that fragmented efforts would not deliver meaningful transformation in the sector.

The conference brought together key stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry, including past presidents of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, regulators, policymakers, and representatives of the Kwara State Government, who pledged support for investment in local manufacturing and innovation.