*National Drug Rehabilitation Centres Underway –Senate
Pharmacists under the auspices of Pharmaceutical
Society of Nigeria (PSN) have alerted that the Federal Government decision to
roll out the first locally produced vaccines in July 2019 may not be
practicable.
Announcing this recently was Ahmed Yakasai,
President, PSN at a press briefing in Lagos.
According to Yakasai, the plan was aimed at
producing vaccines against Yellow fever, Tetanus Toxoid and Hepatitis B.
He said: “It is unbelievable that there are so many
intrigues. Some people want the process to fail. There are so many interests,
even from international bodies. To some, it is either they are involved or it
fails. But everything is stabilising now, as the plan is still on, but delayed.
“I have visited the Yellow fever vaccine plant in
Yaba, Lagos and work is ongoing. The project is capital intensive, but to make
it work better, we are encouraging partnerships.”
May and Baker Plc, an indigenous pharmaceutical
industry, had in June 2017 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the
Federal Government to begin the production.
The plan also included developing a centre of
excellence for research and development of vaccine technology and other
biologics.
Yakassai disclosed that the Senate was planning to
establish at least, one National Drug Rehabilitation Centre in each of the six
geopolitical zones in the country.
On drug abuse especially among the youths, he
said: “The uses of cough syrup with codeine, tramadol, rohypnol, and others
have experienced an exponential increase.”
The PSN boss said the PSN had been a strong
advocate for local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and the need for government
to create a friendly environment for the sector.
According to Yakasai, the local production of
vaccines and drugs would help the country to respond better to emergencies,
generate increased internal revenue and raise the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He identified the challenges facing the sector to
include poor funding, delayed and unlawful appointments in regulatory agencies
and poor composition structures in the health sector.
Other challenges are the lopsided appointments in
federal health institutions, as well as poor cultural attitude to research and
development.
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