The Nigerian National Assembly has directed the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire to collate a policy compelling all government-owned hospitals to procure locally manufactured syringes.
Earlier this month, the Senate summoned the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire; the Minister of Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo and the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration, NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye to appear before it over failure to implement the Backward Integration Policy (BIP), on local production of syringes five years after it was validated.
The Committee gave the directive during an interactive meeting with local manufacturers of pharmaceutical products, the Ministers of Health and Trade and Investment as well as the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Minister Osagie was given a six-week ultimatum to implement the directive.
According to reports, an estimated 1 billion units of syringes and needles are imported into the country yearly, despite the capacity of local manufacturers to meet the market demands.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, also criticised the role of NAFDAC in licensing companies in India and China to import syringes into the country saying “… (NAFDAC) can’t keep licensing agents outside Nigeria to import syringes, while local firms are dying.”