The federal government council (FEC) has accepted the institution of MediPool, a buying organisation.
Pate mentioned the organisation will provide aggressive pricing and provide important medicines and healthcare merchandise throughout Nigeria.
He mentioned MediPool will operate as a public-private partnership, leveraging the federal authorities’s vital buying energy to barter higher costs from suppliers.
He added that it will be established by way of the federal authorities’s primary healthcare provision fund and ultimately by way of federal tertiary hospitals.
“So it’s utilizing the monopsony energy of presidency as a big purchaser of these commodities to barter decrease costs after which channel these commodities,” he mentioned.
“The scope consists of procurement planning, distribution monitoring, provide chain, logistics administration, high quality assurance, regulatory compliance, in addition to guaranteeing that native producers are supported.
“It additionally covers import substitution, {financial} administration and cost techniques, capability constructing and coaching, and contingency planning to make sure regular availability of important medicine by way of public-private partnership.”
He mentioned Medipool has been vetted by way of the infrastructure concession regulatory fee and benchmarked with different world group buying organisations in Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and lots of different international locations.
“We consider that it is a main intervention that may form the home market, in order that the demand for high quality prescribed drugs might be channelled in a manner that lowers price and in addition improves high quality and stimulates native manufacturing,” he added.
Pate mentioned for nearly a 12 months and a half, the federal government had been attempting other ways to scale back the prices of pharmaceutical merchandise as a result of Nigerians had been hurting from rising prices.
“It’s not restricted to Nigeria. As chances are you’ll bear in mind, even international locations so far as the USA are putting government orders to scale back the price of prescribed drugs,” he mentioned.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump mentioned he would signal an government order decreasing costs of pharmaceuticals and prescribed drugs by 30 to 80 p.c.
If pharmaceutical firms reply to US worth caps by limiting provide or elevating costs elsewhere, this might disrupt the provision or affordability of sure medicine in Nigeria, significantly branded or specialty medicines.
In the meantime, FEC additionally accepted a contract price N2.3 billion for the procurement and set up of a cardiac catheterisation machine on the Usman Danfodiyo College Instructing Hospital in Sokoto state.
Pate mentioned the superior medical gear will improve the hospital’s capability to diagnose and deal with complicated coronary heart situations comparable to coronary heart assaults and irregular coronary heart rhythms.
