…as FG plans policy to boost local Syringe, needles manufacturing

By Gabriel Olawale

THE Senate has urged the Federal Government to come forward with a policy that will ensure that all government funded hospitals in the country procure their syringes and needles from local manufacturers.

According to the Senate,  the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire should  within six weeks develop such a  policy and make it available to the Upper Chamber through the Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, All Progressives Congress, APC, Kwara Central led Senate Committee on Health.

This was the resolution reached yesterday in Abuja at an interactive meeting with critical stakeholders.

The Senate Committees on Health Industry,  Trade and Investment are jointly probing a petition by the Medical Device Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, the producers of syringes and needles.

Recall that the association in its petition, had alleged that government at all tiers were not patronising them but chose to embrace foreign syringes and needles.

Oloriegbe who asked  both the Minister of Health and his counterpart in the Ministry of  Industry, Trade and Investment, Chief Niyi Adebayo to ensure that they use their office to encourage the syringes and needles manufacturing firms as well as secure Federal Executive Council approval for his planned “Financial Incentive” policy aimed at encouraging local manufacturing of syringes and needles in Nigeria, said, “We want you (Health Minister), to come up with a policy that will make it mandatory for all federal health institutions, the FMCs and teaching hospitals to use locally manufactured syringes and needles.

“That is the best way to encourage local manufacturers.

“It will be in our recommendations as a committee that all federally owned hospitals,  without exception must procure and use only locally manufactured syringes and needles from companies that are registered and approved by NAFDAC to produce them in Nigeria.

“We will also demand that locally manufactured syringes and vaccines should be used to administer all vaccines procured by government”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health,  Dr. Ehanire, has assured the Senate that his ministry would ensure that all Federal Government-owned health institutions in the country procure and use only syringes and needles manufactured in Nigeria.

Ehanire who responded when asked if the Ministry of Health has such a policy in place,  explained that the ministry often advise managements of the various hospitals to procure local syringes and needles.

The Minister who  noted  that the  ministry of Health would ensure that the Federal Executive Council approve the policy within the next weeks, said that it will be also be an offence for any federal health institutions in the country to administer vaccines procured by Federal Government, with foreign syringes and needles when the policy is in place.

Ehanire said, “We have listened to the position of the committee  and we want to assure the Chairman and other distinguished members that we will come up with the policy and get approval from the Federal Executive Council within six weeks as suggested by the Committee.

“We are in support of the move to encourage local manufacturing of syringes and needles because it is the best way to create jobs and take Nigerians out of poverty .

“We are all interested in developing local capacities to encourage local manufacturers is an item on the agenda of the President t o take 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.”

Ehanire’s explanation was not satisfactory to the Senate panel which obviously wanted something stronger than advisory.

The Senate also called for a policy that will make it mandatory for government hospitals to use only locally made syringes and needles to administer vaccines bought by the Federal Government; excluding vaccines donated by foreign partners.

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The Senate pushed strongly that local components should be left exclusively to Nigerian manufacturers and not opened to competition from foreign players in line the Local Content Act, Executive Order 3 & 5.

In her remarks, the Director General of the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control. Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye said  that the local manufacturers of syringes and needles in Nigeria lacked the capacity to produce the required quantity needed in Nigeria hence the agency licensed some people to import the shortfall.

According to Adeyeye, only three (3) local manufacturers are registered with on the database of NAFDAC, adding, “Patronizing our local manufacturers is a problem. This local manufacturers do not make anything locally. They import and they need incentive.”

But President, Medical Devices Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Syringe, Akin Oyediran welcomed the position of the Senate; but kicked strongly against assertions by the Director- General Mojisola Adeyeye, National Agency for Food and Drugs Administrations (NAFDAC) that no local manufacturer has the capacity to meet local needs.

Oyediran said, “We have the capacity to produce the required syringes and needles that we need in the country.

“One of the manufacturers in Nigeria,  the Jubilee Syringe which I am the MD is the largest manufacturers of Syringes in Africa.

“We have just been approached by other countries in Africa to please export our syringes to them. There is no doubt about having the capacity. I think NAFDAC is speaking based on old data because our company is now about three years old.  We produce over 1.7 million syringes per day,  six days a week.

“We welcome the move by the Senate asking the minister of health to come up with a policy that would give exclusive rights to the local manufacturers of syringes to produce the products for all federally funded health institutions in Nigeria.

“The local manufacturers are actually the highest supplies of  syringes and needles for hospitals. There is no point why government hospitals should use  imported syringes when we have the locally manufactured ones.”