BILLIONS of naira can be generated by  the agency as regulatory allowance annually.  This is done in many developed countries.   The Legislation will fine-tune all necessary details, especially concerning the mode of collecting the regulatory allowance and the range of products the allowance would cover.

This will solve the problem of funding that NAFDAC is facing.   The truth is, there is need to adequately fund NAFDAC as one of the top eighteen medicine regulatory agencies in the world if it is to continue to incrementally apply itself to its responsibility.  If NAFDAC can be legally enabled to collect regulatory allowance, it would go a long way to help it break the barriers of current funding, which is like a drop in the ocean.

A comparative analysis of NAFDAC’s funding, for example, with the US, China and Australia shows negative implications for personnel administration.  For instance, the staff strength of the US Food and Drug Administration for a population of about 300 million, is 12,000 employees.  The Chinese, for their own population of about 1.2 billion, have about 70,000 employees while the Australian Agency (the TGA), for a population of 20 million Australians, has 16,000 employees.

My investigations showed that Nigeria, with a population of 167 million people, has 1, 498 employees in NAFDAC.  To deliver on its mandate of effective regulation and monitoring, NAFDAC has to be adequately manned.  The personnel figure has to increase.  But that is not possible in the absence of adequate funding.  Whereas NAFDAC should not have problem funding its activities especially building and equipping of laboratories and other operations in the states of the federation; it should also be able to pay good salaries as and when due.

There is no doubt that regulatory allowance collectible by NAFDAC by law will be an elixir to the problem of paucity of funds that it faces.  Can’t we replicate what is obtainable in some developed countries here where the regulatory agency is allowed to collect regulatory levy on such luxury items like tobacco products, energy drinks, alcoholic beverages which most people do not need.  Only those people who have excesses and procure these items out of luxury and/or ostentation will be affected by the levy.  It is not compulsory that they buy them, but if they must buy the products, then it becomes a matter of luxury and not necessity.

Have you, for instance, ever bothered to think of the motivation behind someone buying a bottle of Don Perion for N30, 000:00? If it is a class thing, then five percent regulatory allowance put on top of that price will be considered insignificant.   But there is an advantage that consumers stand to benefit:  he or she will be sure of the genuineness of the product (Don Perion, Hennessey or Saint Remy) he or she is consuming.

I believe the regulatory allowance will come in handy for NAFDAC.  The agency will have enough money to take care of its operations and will be able to give some back to the Federal Government to be budgeted for other agencies that do not have the capacity to raise or generate funds.  I foresee a situation where NAFDAC will be able to give some to the Pharmaceutical Intervention Fund, which is the fund for NAFDAC regulated products, to help them upgrade their facilities.

A good chunk of the revenue raked in through the allowance can also be given to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) so the Scheme will have money to buy and subsidize medicines for people who cannot afford them.  Some of the money could even be given to institutions like National Institute of Pharmaceutical Development which capacity to develop new medicines (and this has been shown in the development of anti-sickle cell medicine already) is under-utilized.

With NAFDAC generously earmarking part of the regulatory allowance to the institute, it (institute) will be able to fund the procurement of modern equipment to do better research. There are many medicinal herbs that could be researched into and more medicines could come from this effort, including access of the Nigerian population to these medicines.

I call on NAFDAC leadership to explore this possibility and present an appropriate bill to the Federal Legislature for its consideration and passage.

The National Assembly should be ready to embrace the proposal if the agency considers it apposite in the current circumstance whereby the Federal Government is looking for ways and means to generate funds for massive infrastructure development.

Mr. SUFUYAN  OJEIFO, a journalist, wrote from Abuja. (Read part 1 of this article)