Nigeria's Pharmaceutical Industry: Addressing Over-Reliance on Importation and Proposing Sustainable Solutions

In Africa, Nigeria can be regarded as the most populous country with a population size of 227 million people and also a lower-middle-income country. As at 2014, according to a report by WHO, 25% of the pharmaceutical products needed by Nigerians were delivered locally, while the remaining 75% are i...

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Main Authors: David Ololade Atanda, Joshua Ayodeji Abolade, Rhoda Oluwadamilola Olatuyi, Esther Oyinlola Olatunbosun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing 2025-02-01
Series:INNOVATIONS in Pharmacy
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Online Access:https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/innovations/article/view/6502
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author David Ololade Atanda
Joshua Ayodeji Abolade
Rhoda Oluwadamilola Olatuyi
Esther Oyinlola Olatunbosun
author_facet David Ololade Atanda
Joshua Ayodeji Abolade
Rhoda Oluwadamilola Olatuyi
Esther Oyinlola Olatunbosun
author_sort David Ololade Atanda
collection DOAJ
description In Africa, Nigeria can be regarded as the most populous country with a population size of 227 million people and also a lower-middle-income country. As at 2014, according to a report by WHO, 25% of the pharmaceutical products needed by Nigerians were delivered locally, while the remaining 75% are imported from nations such as India, UK and China, this performance indices indicate poor performance. Due to the heavy reliance on importation faced by the Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry, access to medicines that are essential has been limited and local production capacity has weakened. With the growing interest in plant-based therapies, dosage standardisation for many of these herbal products due to insufficient funding for extensive research into herbal medicine and insufficient clinical trials has made it difficult to assess the effectiveness of herbal treatment systematically and validate scientifically the traditional remedies. Limited facilities for in-vivo and in-vitro studies further limits knowledge advancement in pharmaceutical sciences. The effects of these situations have resulted into drug shortages, prolific substandard medicines and vulnerability to supply chain disruptions. Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach involving policy reform, and the establishment of well-equipped pharmaceutical research and production facilities. Countries such as India and the United States have implemented initiatives backed up by the government which has enabled local companies to manufacture APIs, enhance self-sufficiency in healthcare and research capabilities. Nigeria can adopt similar strategies to reduce dependency on importation and promote innovation in the pharmaceutical sector.
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spelling doaj-art-5b5cec3fcfc741f3b0e9e8bacd8a0ca52025-08-20T03:39:53ZengUniversity of Minnesota Libraries PublishingINNOVATIONS in Pharmacy2155-04172025-02-0116110.24926/iip.v16i1.6502Nigeria's Pharmaceutical Industry: Addressing Over-Reliance on Importation and Proposing Sustainable SolutionsDavid Ololade Atanda0Joshua Ayodeji Abolade1Rhoda Oluwadamilola Olatuyi2Esther Oyinlola Olatunbosun3Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, NigeriaDepartment of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, NigeriaFaculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, NigeriaFaculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria In Africa, Nigeria can be regarded as the most populous country with a population size of 227 million people and also a lower-middle-income country. As at 2014, according to a report by WHO, 25% of the pharmaceutical products needed by Nigerians were delivered locally, while the remaining 75% are imported from nations such as India, UK and China, this performance indices indicate poor performance. Due to the heavy reliance on importation faced by the Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry, access to medicines that are essential has been limited and local production capacity has weakened. With the growing interest in plant-based therapies, dosage standardisation for many of these herbal products due to insufficient funding for extensive research into herbal medicine and insufficient clinical trials has made it difficult to assess the effectiveness of herbal treatment systematically and validate scientifically the traditional remedies. Limited facilities for in-vivo and in-vitro studies further limits knowledge advancement in pharmaceutical sciences. The effects of these situations have resulted into drug shortages, prolific substandard medicines and vulnerability to supply chain disruptions. Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach involving policy reform, and the establishment of well-equipped pharmaceutical research and production facilities. Countries such as India and the United States have implemented initiatives backed up by the government which has enabled local companies to manufacture APIs, enhance self-sufficiency in healthcare and research capabilities. Nigeria can adopt similar strategies to reduce dependency on importation and promote innovation in the pharmaceutical sector. https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/innovations/article/view/6502PharmaceuticalsImportation-DependencyRepackagingNigeria
spellingShingle David Ololade Atanda
Joshua Ayodeji Abolade
Rhoda Oluwadamilola Olatuyi
Esther Oyinlola Olatunbosun
Nigeria's Pharmaceutical Industry: Addressing Over-Reliance on Importation and Proposing Sustainable Solutions
INNOVATIONS in Pharmacy
Pharmaceuticals
Importation-Dependency
Repackaging
Nigeria
title Nigeria's Pharmaceutical Industry: Addressing Over-Reliance on Importation and Proposing Sustainable Solutions
title_full Nigeria's Pharmaceutical Industry: Addressing Over-Reliance on Importation and Proposing Sustainable Solutions
title_fullStr Nigeria's Pharmaceutical Industry: Addressing Over-Reliance on Importation and Proposing Sustainable Solutions
title_full_unstemmed Nigeria's Pharmaceutical Industry: Addressing Over-Reliance on Importation and Proposing Sustainable Solutions
title_short Nigeria's Pharmaceutical Industry: Addressing Over-Reliance on Importation and Proposing Sustainable Solutions
title_sort nigeria s pharmaceutical industry addressing over reliance on importation and proposing sustainable solutions
topic Pharmaceuticals
Importation-Dependency
Repackaging
Nigeria
url https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/innovations/article/view/6502
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AT rhodaoluwadamilolaolatuyi nigeriaspharmaceuticalindustryaddressingoverrelianceonimportationandproposingsustainablesolutions
AT estheroyinlolaolatunbosun nigeriaspharmaceuticalindustryaddressingoverrelianceonimportationandproposingsustainablesolutions