OGUN, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has issued an Executive Order to boosts local production of healthcare products for a period of two years.
The order, according to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, said it will transform the health sector and encourage local manufacturers to produce economical products in the pharmaceutical industry.
The Minister outlined the Executive Order to be implemented which include – zero tariffs, excise duties, and Value-Added Tax (VAT) on specified machinery, equipment, and raw materials imported for pharmaceutical production.
 âIn a transformative move to revitalise the Nigerian health sector, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has signed an Executive Order aiming to increase local production of healthcare products – pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, devices such as needles and syringes, biologicals, medical textile, said the Minister.
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âThe Order introduces zero tariffs, excise duties and VAT on specified machinery, equipment and raw materials, aiming to reduce production costs and enhance our local manufacturersâ competitiveness,â he said.
âSpecified items include Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), excipients, other essential raw materials required for manufacturing of crucial health products like drugs, syringes and needles, Long-lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) and Rapid Diagnostic Kits, among others.
The Minister explained further that the order is crucial to the success for unlocking the healthcare value chain (PVAC_NG), which was approved in October 2023 by the president.
âThe Order also provides for establishing market shaping mechanisms such as framework contracts and volume guarantees, to encourage local manufacturers.â
âThe Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi SAN, is to now take the next steps towards codifying the new Order.â
The order also mandated collaboration among relevant ministries and agencies, including the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), to ensure swift implementation and reduce regulatory bottlenecks.
Pate also added the significant of the order to the economy saying, “provides market-based incentives to encourage medical industrialization, reduce costs of medical products through import substitution, create and retain economic value, and enable job creation in the healthcare value chain.
However, the waivers and exemptions will be effective for two years.