Minister backs move to ban importation of medical syringes
MINISTER of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, has supported calls for a total ban on the importation of medical syringes into the country to encourage local production and grow the nation’s economy.
Alausa expressed support when he led the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Doris Nkiruka UzoAnite; Minister of State for Youths, and Sports Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande; Director- General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye; United Nations Deputy Secretary General, Dr Amina Mohammed, and the Chief Execaimed at guaranteeing the utive Officer, Nigeria Investavailability of high- quality ment Promotion products manufactured by Commission ( NIPC), Mrs Nigerians in the market to Aisha Rimi, on a visit to the generate employment opmultibillion naira ultra- modportunities for Nigerians. ern Afrimedical ManufacturIn her remarks, the Directoring and Supplies Limited, a General of NAFDAC disclosed syringe factor y located that the agency had put an within Karameh Industrial end to granting import auCity, Arepo , Ogun St ate. thorisation to importers, inAlausa reaffirmed the detercluding international mination of the Federal Govpartners. ernment to provide the She stated that the National necessary support to the local Primary Healthcare Developmanufacturing sector to enment Agency ( NPHCDA) has hance its contribution to the also been directed to patronGross Domestic Product GDP. ise local manufacturers of syHe observed that the reringes to provide structuring of syringe an d employment opportunities needle production in Nigeria to Nigerians through the expansion of operations of the Nigeria manufacturing companies.
Adeyeye advocated a holistic approach to combating the incidence of importation of substandard falsified medical devices into the country.
In his response, the Chairman of Mikano International, the parent company of Afrimedical Manufacturing and Supplies Limited, Mr Mofid Karameh, said that his company was poised to revolutionise the landscape to restore Nigeria as the premier hub in Africa.
He noted that the company boasts of an internationally accredited factory with a yearly production capacity of 1.8 billion syringes, employing cutting- edge e- beam sterilisation technology.
The Managing Director of Afrimedical, Mr Akin Oyediran, emphasised the company’s plans to manufacture high- quality syringes not only for Nigeria but also for some neighbouring countries.
He added that the company uses 30 per cent less plastic with high- quality medicalgrade materials in its production.
He expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for its support, noting that the initiative to prohibit syringe imports would diminish the prevalence of substandard products in the Nigerian market and establish a conducive environment for local manufacturers in the pharmaceutical sector to flourish.