The rising cost of drugs worsens access to health care

The The rising cost of medicines caused by inflation has further hampered access to health services in the country as many sick Nigerians cannot afford medicines, Sunday PUNCH has learned

Amid rising costs of food, utilities, and other essentials, many find it difficult to pay for necessary prescriptions, forcing indigent patients to seek alternative herbal treatment.

Nigeria’s annual food inflation rate was 40.01% in March 2024, 15.56% higher than the rate of 24.45% in March 2023.

Food inflation rose 3.09% to 40.01% from 37.92% in February, indicating that the cost of a healthy diet rose faster month-on-month compared to food inflation. foods

The national average cost of healthy diet was N982 in March 2024, which is 4.7 percent higher than the amount recorded in February 2024.

Meanwhile, workers have complained that the current minimum wage of N30,000 ($21) cannot sustain workers, amid rampant inflation.

Drug prices are rising

Findings by our correspondent showed that the prices of some antimalarial drugs had increased from 11% to around 23% between November 2023 and April 2024.

In November, a 120mg injection of Artesunate was sold for N2,500 while the 60mg injection was sold for N1,800.

The cost of Coartem 80/480mg was about N3,300, while Amatem Soft Gel sold for N2,500, and Lonart 80/480mg, for N2,850.

However, in April, market surveys showed that Artesunate 120mg now sells for N2,800 (up 12%), while 60mg of the injection now sells for N2,000 (up 11%). Coartem 80/480mg now sells for N4,000 (6% increase).

Amatem soft gel rose by over 20% as it now sells for about N3,000. Lonart 80/480mg now sells for N3,500 which is a 22% increase.

These circumstances, however, are forcing many patients to skip their life-saving medications and instead turn to unapproved alternatives and counterfeit drugs.

Analysts have attributed the increase in drug prices to factors such as devaluation of the national currency, unstable exchange rates, dependence on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients and heavy reliance on drug imports.

Rising drug prices in Nigeria are making it difficult for many, including vulnerable and wage-earning populations, to afford essential medicines.

Patients complain

Patients battling terminal illnesses who need drugs to survive have also lamented, saying drug prices have forced them to patronize alternative medicine.

Consequently, there is a worrying increase in the purchase of cheap but potentially dangerous counterfeit medicines.

Some patients informed our correspondent that they were currently teetering on the brink as they were disproportionately affected by high drug costs.

Mrs Ada Ejim, who suffered from arthritis, suffered days of joint pain due to the unavailability of her prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs. Despite her children’s efforts to procure the medicine from a street drug dealer, her condition persisted.

Expressing her distress, the 61-year-old Abuja resident highlighted her financial constraints, relying solely on her children for support.

Similarly, a civil servant, Mrs. Faith Ayodele, recounted the financial strain she suffered while treating her daughters’ malaria.

After spending large sums on tests and medication at a local chemist, her daughters condition worsened, requiring emergency hospitalization.

In sub-Saharan Africa, up to 267,000 deaths a year are linked to counterfeit and substandard antimalarial drugs, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s 2022 Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessment and Crime

NMA, PSN react

A doctor and the chairman of the Lagos state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Benjamin Olowojebutu, said the implications of resorting to fake and unapproved alternatives were dangerous, but the number of people like Ejim and Ayodele who resort to them is increasing. .

The President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Professor Cyril Usifoh, emphasized the need for consistent electricity, stable exchange rates and sound fiscal policies to deal with the situation.

Usifoh said: “Government has made a policy that we should produce more of these drugs here, but before coming up with this policy, stakeholders were not consulted.” We are currently in dialogue with the government. There is a lot of discussion between the government and the industries.

We have a quarterly meeting with the coordinating Minister of Health and the industries have proposed some of the things that are needed. They have to create an enabling environment. If electricity is good around 70% and currency is stable, industrialists can plan. It becomes difficult to plan if the currency keeps changing every time.

On his part, the Chief Medical Officer of the Lagos University Hospital, Professor Wasiu Adeyemo, said the federal government was already encouraging local drug manufacturers to produce drugs.

The government is encouraging local industries these days because if we continue to import along with the exchange rate, it will affect the cost of medicines.

The government has asked hospitals, especially federal institutions, to ensure that we sponsor locally manufactured pharmaceutical products, including needles and syringes.

In addition, the government is addressing the value chain issue. He has appointed a director to bring everyone together, especially the pharmaceutical and other health-related industries. Therefore, the government is making efforts to ensure that we produce what we need, he added.

Meanwhile, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, affirmed the governments dedication to fostering a strong health system, which involves improving collaboration between the public and private sectors to ensure the delivery of services and products high quality

Pate revealed this in a post on X during the week.

He noted that the efforts will not only be critical to save lives, but also to generate quality and well-compensated job opportunities with avenues for growth.

Nigeria’s healthcare sector faces challenges such as heavy reliance on imports, limited local manufacturing and financial barriers such as high capital costs and restrictive market regulations, part of the publication read.