Nigerians groan as cost of drugs, medicare soars

DAILY POST

Last week, the news that GlaxoSmithKline, GSK, was exiting Nigeria sent shockwaves across the country.

GSK, one of the country’s major pharmaceutical companies, manufactures some of the best-known prescription medicines, vaccines, and consumer healthcare products, including brands like Panadol, Macleans, Andrew Liver Salt, and Amoxil.

Scarcity looms for these essential drugs and others manufactured by GSK even as prices of pharmaceutical drugs, generally, skyrocket in response to the free fall of the naira.

Presently, some drugs have become unaffordable to the average citizen.

A DAILY POST survey, corroborated by some medical doctors and hospital pharmacists, showed that prices of drugs and medical services rose steeply by at least 80 per cent to 150 per cent in the last two months.

For instance, Ciprotab (Fidson), an antibiotic tablet, used to cost an average of N2,300. Today, it goes for between N3,000 and as much as N3,500 in some retail shops.

Ventolin inhaler (by GSK Pharmaceuticals) cost an average of N4,500 per canister two months ago. Today, it goes for between N6,500 and N12,000 in some retail shops. While Augmentin used to cost N5000, today, it costs N17,000.

Some patients who spoke to DAILY POST said they now resort to traditional medicine since they could no longer afford conventional treatments.