By Maria Famakinwa

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Nigerians have continued to groan over the increasing prices of drugs. The outrageous cost of life-saving drugs is becoming a daily burden for patients across the country. Several people are now forced to take a risk by embracing the alternatives which to an extent might not be preferable. Worst still, some engaged in self-medication.

Prices of many prescribed and over-the-counter medications have witnessed a steady increase, making the drugs unaffordable and unavailable. According to media reports, the price increase has heightened by the exit of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria plc in August 2023 and Sanofi pharmaceutical multinational in November 2023 from Nigeria. Citizens who spoke with The Hope called for an urgent intervention from the Federal Government to save lives.

Despite the assurance from the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, that the current high cost of medicines in the country will become a thing of the past as she disclosed that the agency is in partnership with a pharmaceutical industry working hard to bring down the cost of drugs, the situation remains the same.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, also assured Nigerians that the various policy measures put in place by the present administration would soon begin to reflect positively on the cost of essential medical commodities but Nigerians are still hopeful.

Indeed, this scenario has a lot of consequences for the welfare, productivity, and prosperity of Nigerians. The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes access to health as universal health coverage which means that all people must have access to the health services they need, when and where they need them of sufficient quality to be effective, without financial hardship. Unfortunately, the continuous fall in the value of the naira has increased the prices of all essential commodities in the country including drugs and health facilities beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.

In one of the big pharmacies visited by The Hope, Augmentin 625mg and 1g were sold for N12,300 and N13,300, respectively, as against N3,000 to N5,000, while Amoxil 500mg is sold N4,060, Zinnat 500mg now goes for between N15,000-N18,000 as against N5000, paracetamol that was sold for N50 per sachet is now N300.

A trader and mother of three, Mrs Itunu Fadipe, lamented that the increasing prices of drugs had become unbearable just like the increase in food prices. She explained that malaria drugs and paracetamol had become so expensive and called on the government to intervene. She said: “One sachet of paracetamol is now selling for N300 . How can we spend that much on just paracetamol which used to be N50  Antimalarial drugs have also increased.

“I bought Coartem anti-malarial drug for N6,100 as against N3,000 that it was  sold for in the past. People can no longer afford common paracetamol. Food items have become very expensive, and drugs too are very expensive. How are Nigerians going to survive? This is a serious issue and the government needs to do something fast about it because Nigerians are suffering.

Sharing a similar view, a civil servant, Mr Friday Henry, who is on prescribed drugs hinted that it was the wrong time to fall sick in Nigeria as he revealed that the drugs he uses are no longer affordable for him. He said:” My salary is barely enough to meet my needs, sometimes I have to do without these drugs because I need to buy food, pay for transport, and meet other household needs. Mine is still better, what about those on life-saving drugs who must find every means to buy the drugs? One of them disclosed to me that he spent half of his salary on drugs, which was before the increment in prices of drugs. How much will someone like that be spending on drugs now? What about retirees who are on drugs but not getting their pensions as and when due?

“I am calling on the government to look into this issue. Nigerians are dying because they cannot afford to buy medication, some have resorted to herbal concoctions which can also have negative side effects if not taken properly. I am also considering switching to herbal medicine if I can get a potent one because I have to do something about my health. A neighbour needed urgent medical attention last month but decided to do self-medication because he had nothing to take care of himself. When his situation was getting worse, the wife opened up that they needed financial assistance to take her husband to the hospital. She started calling family members who could help to no avail until church members came to his rescue otherwise, the man would have died. Some Nigerians are in critical condition without helpers. That is why I am appealing to the government to come to the aid of the masses because access to health is access to life,” he said.

An Okada rider, who simply gave his name as Olanrewaju explained that when he fell sick and went to the hospital, he was given some drugs prescription to buy but was surprised when he got to the pharmacy and they calculated everything to be N23,650.

His words: ” I told them that I could not afford it because I was having less than N6000 with me. I discussed this with my friend who knows about herbs and he prescribed some herbs for me which I have been using.

“Why should I go and spend money that I do not even have to buy medicine when I can take Agbo? (local concoction). The cost of drugs is out of the teach of ordinary man who is already struggling to feed the family. Nigerians are passing through challenges that need urgent attention because if ordinary men cannot feed or buy drugs, what is left for such? We need urgent government intervention to ameliorate the suffering of the masses,” he pleaded.

A pharmacist, Aderopo Aderoju attributed the increasing cost of medication to the high cost of foreign exchange and the cost of production for locally made drugs. He said: “The bureaucracy involved in getting approval for the supply of drugs also affects the price and availability but the major reason prices have gone up is because most of these drugs are imported.

“For those battling chronic ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or cancer, the affordability crisis has pushed essential medications and treatment out of the reach of many Nigerians and strained the public healthcare system. I fear that patients who are not taking their medications as prescribed, stand to develop complications and incur even more expensive interventions later. We are hopeful that the dollar will come down and the naira will rise so that needed drugs can be available and affordable for Nigerians,” he said.