Across Nigeria, citizens are facing heartbreaking choices between buying essential drugs and meeting daily survival needs, despite government promises to ease the burden through tariff waivers and tax exemptions.
In June 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed an Executive Order aimed at reducing drug prices by abolishing tariffs, excise duties, and Value Added Tax (VAT) on pharmaceutical machinery and raw materials. The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, explained that the measure was designed to stimulate local drug production, cut costs, and ensure affordable healthcare for millions.
The directive mandated agencies such as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to swiftly enforce the new policies.
By March 2025, the Nigeria Customs Service announced that implementation had begun, with exemptions extended to raw materials including Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), excipients, diagnostic kits, and packaging materials.
But a nationwide survey has shown that the policy has barely made a dent in the real market. Instead of falling, drug prices have continued to skyrocket, leaving ordinary Nigerians in despair.
Patients Share Their Pain
For chronic illness patients, the reality is devastating. In Lagos, the Chairman of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria, Abdulwahab Dauda, said insulin prices remain out of reach.
“Some people who used to give us free medications have even reduced the quantities of drugs they give. The economy is biting hard on diabetes patients; our drugs are costly. Many of us are struggling to afford our drugs. We are yet to see the effects of the executive order,” Dauda explained.
Market data paints a grim picture. Insulin that cost N14,000 in June 2024 now sells for between N18,000 and N20,000. A glucometer once priced at N20,500 now costs N29,000. Hypertension drug Exforge jumped from N32,800 to N60,000. Antimalarial drugs like Coartem doubled from N3,800 to N8,500, while Artesunate injection rose from N1,600 to N2,500.
For Lagos resident Mrs. Idowu Abi, treating a simple case of malaria became financially draining.
“Last year, I spent less than N10,000 to treat malaria. But this time, the test alone cost me N3,000, while the injections and drugs went over N16,000,” she lamented.
Similarly, Abuja resident Mr. Endurance Amogi was stunned when a catarrh drug he once bought for N4,000 was sold for N24,000. “I could afford it, but what about those who cannot?” he asked.
Frontpagenews.ng reports that in states like Gombe, Adamawa, Plateau, and Sokoto, families are cutting prescriptions in half, turning to local herbs, or abandoning treatment altogether. In Adamawa, Mariam Abubakar said she was charged N13,800 for malaria drugs, almost half her monthly salary. “Where will I get that money? My salary is only N28,000,” she asked.
Doctors Raise Alarm
Health professionals warn that the government’s promises are not translating into affordable treatment for patients.
President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Prof. Bala Audu, urged full implementation of the Executive Order, saying:
“To be honest, the immediate and long-term solution to the issue of high prices of drugs is for the government and the authorities to act and ensure that the executive order is fully implemented to ease the burden on Nigerians.”
Similarly, Dr. Tope Osundara, President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, said the nation’s limited pharmaceutical capacity is a major barrier.
“We do not have enough pharmaceutical companies to produce some of the essential drugs; the ones that we have are insufficient to take care of the needs of the people. Aside from that, out-of-pocket payment is also part of the problem we are having,” he said.
Partial Relief and Policy Contradictions
Some pharmacists acknowledge that recent imports are starting to reflect price reductions. Olatunji Aloba, Chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria in the Federal Capital Territory, explained that medicines already in circulation before the Executive Order still maintain their old prices.
“There are some drugs that are coming down in prices. Some are actually crashing. But those that were already in circulation before the policy was declared still maintain their old prices. It is new transactions and new importations that are beginning to reflect the order,” Aloba noted.
Meanwhile, industry leaders caution that fresh government levies are reversing modest gains. The Executive Secretary of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Frank Muonemeh, condemned the mandatory four percent Free-on-Board (FOB) charge on imports.
“They should not use one hand to give and another to take back. The pharmaceutical and food sectors are basic life-support systems. Applying FOB on them is counterproductive and makes Nigerians pay more for essential goods,” Muonemeh warned.
Citizens Demand Action
From Nasarawa to Kano, residents call for urgent intervention. In Plateau State, Mohammed Abubakar described the situation as “really unbearable for the average Nigerian.” In Gombe, Fatima Sambo said her husband’s diabetes treatment was now unaffordable. And in Sokoto, student Bashir Ibrahim confessed that many young people now turn to home remedies because “drugs are just too expensive.”
For many, the promise of cheaper drugs remains on paper, while in reality, the rising cost of medicines continues to push healthcare beyond reach. Until decisive action is taken, the gap between government policy and citizens’ reality will only widen.
