Health

By Adeyemi Adeleye

A pharmaceutical company, ST.RACHEAL’S Pharma, has called on the National Assembly (NASS) to accelerate the enactment of a bill for an act to establish the Health Development Bank of Nigeria.

The Chairman of the company, Akinjide Adeosun, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, to mark the 2024 World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week (WAAW), in Lagos.

Adeosun said that it had become overdue to provide medium and long term credit facilities to health institutions in Nigeria.

He said that this would hasten industrialisation, manufacturing, boost medicine security, with the attendant massive creation of jobs.

According to him, the enactment of the bill HB.1879 of the Specialised Bank into law, with hopeful single digit lending rate, will lead to a reduction of the cost of doing business for the pharmaceutical value chains.

He said that the bill would enhance the process of doing business for the pharmaceutical value chains, be it in the upstream (onshore and offshore manufacturing, Research & Development); midstream (wholesale) and the downstream (retail).

The chairman said that it would also control the increasing antibiotics resistance exacerbated by the worsening economic condition.

He said that the floating of the Nigerian naira, removal of fuel subsidy, exorbitant energy cost, high lending rate and spiralling inflation had made medicines to become luxurious, unaffordable and unavailable to many.

Adeosun said that this might make sub-optimal dosing of antibiotics to increase eventually, leading to high morbidity and mortality of the citizenry.

“The current situation of a full dose of antibiotics costing N20,000.00 is unacceptable and inimical to the health of the nation.

“The establishment of a Health Bank has a twin benefit of reducing patients’ deaths and increasing the life expectancy of pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria

“Antimicrobial Resistance (AMAR) is of global concern and poses great risk of morbidity and mortality in the middle and low income countries,” he said.

According to him, the burden of poverty and environmental conditions such as lack of potable water and sanitation, contribute to the continuous spread of microbes and resistant ones in the environment, especially in low income countries, like Nigeria.

He recounted that it was reported in 2017 that the treatment of healthcare associated infections had increased two to 20 times over the years.

Adeosun added that the Antibiotics used in hospitalised patients ranged from 65 per cent to 79 per cent which was higher than most countries.

“Not finishing the course of antimicrobials, due to non-affordability, also increases the risk of the bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics,” he said.

Adeosun said that ST.RACHEAL’S Pharma was in unison with the WAAW 2024 theme: “Educate, Advocate and Act Now”.

According to him, AMR is a threat to humans, animals, plants and the environment.

He called on all stakeholders, including pharmacists; medical doctors; veterinary doctors; botanists; microbiologists; nurses; laboratory scientists; health administrators and environmentalists in the public and private sectors to work together.

The chairman said that efforts must be made to build partnerships and forge a common approach to halt antimicrobial resistance, thereby contributing to the improvement of life expectancy of Nigerians.

“Health is a sine qua non to national development, only a healthy people can enjoy a prosperous economy,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ST. RACHEAL’S Pharma is a Nigerian pharmaceutical company with African headquarters in Lekki 1 Peninsula, Lagos, Nigeria. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Florence Onuegbu/Vivian Ihechu