President Bola Tinubu’s executive order in June 2024, which abolished tariffs, excise duties, and Value Added Tax on pharmaceutical machinery and raw materials, has caused drug prices in Nigeria have continue to climb sharply, leaving patients with no relief.
The policy, which was expected to reduce production costs and ease the burden on consumers, has largely remained ineffective, as the prices of essential medicines have surged by as much as 100 percent in just over a year.
On June 28, 2024, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, announced that the President had signed an order to support local manufacturing of healthcare products.
Pate said the order introduced zero tariffs, excise duties, and VAT on raw materials such as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, excipients, syringes, needles, long-lasting insecticidal nets, and diagnostic kits.
Diabetes/Hypertension: The cost of insulin increased from ₦14,000 to ₦18,000 (29%), while the cost of a glucometer rose from ₦20,500 to ₦29,000 (41%). Metformin went up 30 per cent from ₦500 to ₦650, while amlodipine rose from ₦1,800 to ₦2,400 (33%). Exforge spiked 83 per cent from ₦32,800 to ₦60,000.
Malaria: Coartem doubled from ₦3,800 to ₦8,500 (124%), Artesunate injection rose from ₦1,600 to ₦2,500 (56%), while Lokmal tablets surged from ₦1,200 to ₦2,450 (104%). Augmentin dropped by 24 per cent, from ₦18,500 to ₦14,000, while the Ventolin inhaler fell from ₦8,500 to ₦7,500 (12%).
For patients with chronic conditions, the situation has become dire as the rising cost of medication continues to pile pressure on already strained households.
Stakeholders say the failure to fully operationalise the executive order has left Nigerians with “little respite from crippling medication costs.”
