ABUJA — In a significant move to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced a strategic partnership with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to enhance access to quality medicines across hospitals nationwide.
The announcement was made on Thursday in Abuja when Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of NAFDAC, received Kelechi Ohiri, during a courtesy visit to her office.
Prof. Adeyeye emphasized the need for close collaboration between NAFDAC and the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) in the procurement of medicines, saying such cooperation is crucial to tackling the circulation of counterfeit and expired drugs.
“Ensuring Nigerians have access to safe, effective, and high-quality medicines requires that regulatory bodies are actively involved in all aspects of drug procurement and distribution,” she said.
She further stressed that NAFDAC and PCN would continue to monitor compliance, sanction defaulters, revoke licenses, and, where necessary, shut down pharmaceutical companies that fail to meet Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.
Highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by Nigerians accessing healthcare under the NHIA scheme, Adeyeye described patient experiences as often “difficult and, at times, traumatic.” She reassured that NAFDAC remains committed to strengthening partnerships with relevant agencies to make healthcare more accessible, in line with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ohiri commended Prof. Adeyeye for her leadership in safeguarding public health and noted that effective healthcare delivery depends on strong synergy between regulatory bodies and service providers.
He explained that his visit aimed to review the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NHIA and NAFDAC, enhance collaboration, and discuss ongoing reforms to improve medicine supply and healthcare access.
Dr. Ohiri also highlighted the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund as a key initiative for expanding health insurance coverage and addressing critical challenges faced by citizens, promising that ongoing reforms would tackle most of these issues.
The partnership signals a renewed commitment by both agencies to ensure that Nigerians have wider access to safe and effective healthcare services while curbing the menace of counterfeit drugs.
