Pharma West Africa Appoints Yakasai Conference Chair For Expo Launch

Nigeria’s new international trade event for medicines, Pharma West Africa, has appointed Ahmed Yakasai to chair its inaugural conference.

Yakasai, a former president and fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) will head the team developing the conference alongside the Pharma West Africa Exhibition, running from October 4 to October 6, 2023 in Lagos.

In a statement issued by Pharma West Africa on Yakasai’s appointment and the conference, the organisers said high-level local and international speakers from the pharmaceutical industry, leading pharmacists and other health professionals would discuss the conference’s theme: “New Frontiers in Pharma: Equitable Healthcare and Business Success.”

The conference is aimed at improving the public’s access to better quality medicines by looking at how to solve the challenges facing the local pharmaceutical industry and to highlight opportunities to improve medicines security, supply and affordability.

In his reaction, Yakasai said, “Nigeria has the potential to become a leading manufacturer and distributor of essential medicines in sub-Saharan Africa. About 60 percent of pharmaceutical production in ECOWAS countries is dominated by Nigeria with less than 50 percent current capacity utilization.”

However, issues facing local medicines availability include infrastructure, supply chain challenges and available technology and training.

“We rely on other countries for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), machinery and other resources needed for domestic production of drugs. Nigeria can balance her dependence on imports to meet its medicines needs by improving manufacturing capacity and increasing research capacity through adequate funding,” he added.

Yakasai’s experience as a pharmacist, academic and businessman includes more than 40 years of regulatory affairs; business roles include being a founder and chairman of the Safe Medicines Foundation, a board member of Clearline HMO and SFH Access, and chairman of Evans Baroque Pharma Ltd. He is involved in pharmacist education programmes at the Capital City University, Kano, and at Kano State University of Science and Technology, Wudill, Kano State.

Pharma West Africa will take place at the Landmark Centre on Victoria Island and is being organised by BtoB Events, which has an expanding exhibition portfolio in Nigeria.

Its managing director Jamie Hill said he was delighted Yakasai has accepted the invitation to chair the inaugural conference.

He said, “Mr Yakasai brings a wealth of experience and has an extensive knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria. The Conference content will put into context the need for putting patients’ access to medicines first by driving universal health coverage as well as considering how the industry can meet this challenge.”