VANGUARD
It is not the best of times to be sick in Nigeria or to require any form of medical treatment as a result of a disease infection or accident trauma. This is because the continuous free fall of the naira value over the last few years has worsened the already weakened healthcare delivery services in the country.
From the pharmaceutical sector to the healthcare delivery services, Nigeria’s treatment of one ailment or the other has been rendered helpless. Hospitals are also not spared.
Apart from escalating the cost of medicines in Nigeria, its adverse effects on the population leave much to be desired.
The Nigerian pharmaceutical industry is facing significant challenges due to rising drug costs, forcing importers and local manufacturers out of business. Many medicines for common ailments are no longer available, and few are accessible to most Nigerians.
Pharmaceutical companies like GSK are leaving the country, and essential medicines are being hoarded by wholesalers and retailers. The depreciating value of the naira to the dollar, coupled with sky-high inflation, has led to a sharp increase in the cost of importation of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and APIs, and the importation and manufacturing of finished products at the consumer level.
Currently, Nigeria is rated by the World Health Organisation, WHO, as one of the eight countries in the world with exceptionally exorbitant drug prices.
As you’re reading this article, US$1 is exchanging at the parallel market at N1, 200, as of 24th October 2023, the exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar is about N800, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
Vanguard investigations reveal that the cost of pharmaceutical drugs in Nigeria has increased by over 100 per cent, causing patients to return home without their prescriptions.
Prices for paracetamol, chemotherapeutic treatments, antimalarials, antibiotics, antihistamines, antihypertensives, antidiabetics, and other medications have risen by 200 to 800 percent. This issue is undermining local medicine makers, who rely on imported raw materials. Nigeria, which relies on imports for 70 percent of its medicine needs, may face the worst if immediate action is not taken.
Stakeholders are concerned that the rapid disappearance of pharmaceuticals could lead to a major scarcity of drugs and medicines for disease treatment. Additionally, the cost of medications in Nigeria continues to rise hourly due to the $1 per second increase in the dollar exchange rate.
A Vanguard investigation found that Augmentin, a GSK product for the treatment of infection and pneumonia, is no longer available at a fixed price. The price is now determined by the buyer. Ampiclox, another GSK product that was formerly priced between N500 and N1,000 per sachet, is now priced between N10,000 and N20,000 per sachet, depending on location.
If you can find the medicine to buy, it costs between N26,500 and N45,000 depending on where you live. The 1-gram sachet costs N45,000 in Okota and Isolo, whereas it costs N40,000 elsewhere.
Another life-saving drug – the Ventolin inhaler -that is utilized in treating asthma attacks is now out of supply. A few months ago, the Ventolin inhaler was sold for N1, 600.
Findings revealed that the scarcity of Ventolin inhalers has also pushed the price of another brand of inhaler, Seretide, through the roof. It was formerly sold for N6, 000, but now goes for N40, 000.
Many Nigerians can no longer afford regular paracetamol; a packet of paracetamol that cost N50 a year ago now costs N200 to N300, depending on the location and brand.
An indeterminate number of patients are abandoning their treatments and adopting alternative methods like traditional healers and prayer houses. Online pharmaceutical marketers exploit the scarcity of drugs to flood the market with substandard and counterfeit medications, impacting patients like pregnant women, asthma, cancer, malaria, pneumonia, hypertension, and diabetes.
For Agnes Onyero, who was on treatment for malaria, it is not just that the drugs are expensive; her main worry is that she is not seeing the results. “I have been treating malaria for three months now after a short relief it will come back again. I have decided that after I finish this set of drugs, I will try herbs,” she lamented regretfully.
While Agnes is battling with resistance to malaria drugs apparently due to substandard or fake medicines, another Nigerian, Adebayo Ojo cannot even afford to buy any drug for treatment. The 35 year-old now patronises herb sellers popularly known as Alagbo who hawk concoctions in his area.
Every morning, Adebayo purchases a cup of the mixture for N200, which, according to him, was formerly sold for N100.
“I did not just decide to be taking herbs but the situation of things forced me to do that. I have no steady job and just manage what I get from the little one I do. I was at the pharmacy close to my house and I asked for a malaria drug I was told it is now N2,500. The amount is higher than my daily earnings, so I left it, “ he said.
Agnes and Adebayo are not alone. There are millions of Nigerians in the same boat with them. Some are now building their fate in their faith.
Dollar rate determines the price of drugs in Nigeria
The Chief Executive Officer of HealthPeak Pharmacy, Lagos, Pharm. Azubuike Amakase adduced that several factors contributed to the high cost of drugs presently in Nigeria, but the major factor is forex. In his view, most drugs are imported and indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturers also rely on imported raw materials.
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