The Federal Government has called for increased investment in local production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), saying that Ngeria has the potential to become a major supplier of pharmaceutical inputs in Africa.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Chris Isokpunwu, made the call at the Future of Health Conference 2026, organised by Nigeria Health Watch in collaboration with the World Bank Group in Abuja.
The conference, themed “From Innovation to Impact: The Future of Health is Now”, focused on accelerating the transition to domestic production of APIs for priority essential medicines in Nigeria.
Isokpunwu said that Nigeria possessed the market size, population and entrepreneurial capacity to develop a competitive pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, adding that local API production could strengthen medicine security, create jobs and boost non-oil exports.
He said that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) also offered an opportunity for Nigeria to expand its pharmaceutical market beyond domestic consumption.
“With the right production capacity and internationally competitive standards, Nigeria can position itself as a regional supplier of pharmaceutical inputs, deepen African value chains and strengthen its non-oil industrial exports,” he said.
He, however, stressed that achieving this would require identifying priority essential medicines, assessing the technical and commercial feasibility of local production and adopting a phased approach to attracting investors.
According to him, domestic API manufacturing was a strategic economic imperative that connects public health, industrialisation, investment, trade and national security.
“Nigeria cannot achieve sustainable health security while remaining heavily dependent on external sources for critical pharmaceutical inputs,” he said.
He identified predictable policies, reliable electricity, adequate infrastructure, affordable financing and a sustainable market as essential requirements for attracting investment into the sector.
Isokpunwu also emphasised the need for technology transfer, skills development, research and industrial partnerships.
He disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had initiated the establishment of the Health Industries Corporation of Nigeria (HICON) to attract investments in APIs, medical equipment, pharmaceutical products, herbal medicines and diagnostic devices.
Also speaking at the conference, the National Coordinator, Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), Dr Abdul Muktar, said that the initiative was working with private sector operators to identify and prioritise APIs based on Nigeria’s public health needs.
Represented by Dr Zara Abba-Aji, he said that PVAC was collaborating with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) on excipient manufacturing.
He noted that developing domestic pharmaceutical production required a comprehensive approach involving access to capital, workforce development and affordable medicines.
Muktar said that the initiative was also working with a local manufacturer to facilitate access to European Investment Bank funding and technical expertise for manufacturing and technology transfer.
He described the Federal Government’s 2024 Executive Order, which provided local manufacturers access to precursor ingredients, including APIs, as a temporary measure towards achieving domestic production.
On his part, Dr Olumide Okunola of the World Bank Group and International Finance Corporation said pharmaceutical manufacturing presented significant economic and healthcare opportunities for Nigeria.
He maintained thatbinvestments in the health economy could improve health outcomes, increase productivity, create employment and strengthen national competitiveness.
Citing a modelling report, which estimated that developing Nigeria’s health economy could unlock more than $40bn in economic value, equivalent to nearly eight per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, Okunola noted that Nigeria had about 200 pharmaceutical manufacturers, but their production capacity remained below 40 per cent due to regulatory challenges, inadequate electricity supply and financing constraints.
He observed that local manufacturers still depended on countries such as China and India for APIs, including ingredients used in producing common medicines such as paracetamol.
According to him, Nigeria could leverage its petrochemical infrastructure to develop domestic API production, while prioritising products with significant economic and public health benefits.
He also commended the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for developing an API policy, describing it as an important step towards establishing domestic production.
The Managing Director, Nigeria Health Watch, Vivianne Ihekweazu, said Nigeria’s dependence on imported pharmaceutical ingredients exposed its medicine supply chain to foreign exchange fluctuations and international disruptions.
She recalled that the COVID-19 pandemic had demonstrated the vulnerability of countries dependent on external sources for essential medicines and other health supplies.
Ihekweazu said that the conference was examining ways to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to manufacture pharmaceutical ingredients, stressing that medicine security was essential to building a resilient healthcare system.
She added that local production could help address the cost pressures associated with imported pharmaceutical ingredients and improve access to affordable medicines.
She called for coordinated action among the ministries of health and industry, regulatory agencies, financial institutions and private sector operators to create an enabling environment for sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer, Bloom Public Health, Prof. Chimezie Anyakora, said that Nigeria needed to move beyond manufacturing finished pharmaceutical products to producing the active ingredients used in making them.
He pointed out that the country had developed considerable capacity in medicine manufacturing and should now advance further along the pharmaceutical value chain.
“Nigeria is among the biggest consumption and manufacturing countries in Africa. We need to be among those that will move to API manufacturing,” he said.
Anyakora stated that the transition would require specialised skills and urged universities to prepare professionals for the emerging area of pharmaceutical production.
While encouraging more local manufacturers to invest in API production, he also called for stronger public participation in the fight against fake and substandard medicines, stressing that sustained investment in technical capacity and regulatory oversight would further strengthen confidence in locally manufactured medicines.
