Phytomedicine and The Necessity Of Funding Health Research In Nigeria, By Rahma Oladosu
The quality of health facilities, equipment and, most importantly, drug making has always been a major concern in the Nigerian health sector and these cannot be over emphasised.
As we all know, one of the major challenges that the health sector in the country is currently facing pertains to the high dependency on imported drugs, 70 per cent of which are brought in mainly from China and India. In addition to this, Nigeria relies on imported pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as equipment for the local manufacturing of drugs.
Lately, drug manufacturing in Nigeria has been on the decline, with the main reasons for this being infrastructural challenges, such as a lack of consistent energy supply, as well as inadequate financial support for up-and-coming pharmaceutical scientists. Other difficulties include a weak technology and engineering base, coupled with feeble industrial linkages and supply chains, alongside high taxation.
Nearly all the local drug manufacturers purchase pharmaceutical ingredients from foreign manufacturers, which are then formulated into finished drugs, meaning that they are limited to the purchase and repackaging of drugs for use.
There is currently no significant research and development activity in the country with regard to phytomedicine and most of the pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria have not been able to fully navigate these challenges, which makes their operations in the country sub-optimal.
Meanwhile, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is generally known for providing support for research and development in institutions in the country of which the health sector is not left out. TETFund’s intervention often covers universities and other health parastatals in the areas of medical research, as well as the provision of facilities for the treatment of major ailments.
In this light, the recent promise of TETFund to provide financial support to four public agencies for the purpose of producing drugs is quite inspiring, and one of the public agencies to benefit from this is the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD).
The NIPRD is a parastatal of the Federal Government of Nigeria under the Federal Ministry of Health, mainly conducting research into pharmaceutical raw materials, drugs and biological products. NIPRD mainly works in collaboration with national and international partners.
This pledge of support from TETFund was disclosed by the executive secretary of the organisation, Professor Suleiman Bogoro during a virtual meeting on the ‘Institutionalisation of R and D in Nigeria’s Pharmaceutical Subsector Thematic Group’, which coincided with the one year anniversary of the establishment of the TETFund Research and Development Standing Committee (RDSC).
Bogoro made it known that NIPRD would collaborate with the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan to carry out research on and the production of phytomedicine.
Phytomedicine is the utilisation of the therapeutic and healing properties of herbs for medicinal purposes, and this has been in existence since the advent of human civilisation. With the numerous health challenges that Nigerians face, ranging from communicable to non-communicable diseases, conventional pharmacotherapy has rather been the mainstay of treatments for a majority of conditions. Yet, there is need to ensure national sufficiency and drug security in tackling diseases, reducing mortality and catering for other health care needs.
There is currently no significant research and development activity in the country with regard to phytomedicine and most of the pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria have not been able to fully navigate these challenges, which makes their operations in the country sub-optimal.
Moving forward, while developing a sustainable and efficient local drug industry in Nigeria would take decades of dedication by both the private sector and government, I strongly believe that TETFund’s partnership with the NIPRD on pharmaceutical research will bring about a new beginning and great improvement in the health sector. This is because Nigeria is richly blessed with thousands of medicinal herbs and this is an opportunity for us to strategically improve our research on herbal medicines for diseases management and to also improve access to various types of medicines.
Rahma Olamide Oladosu is a Staff Writer with the Economic Confidential
