Nigeria targets 70% local drug production to enhance pharma packaging

NIGERIA – The federal government has restated its commitment to produce at least 70 percent of essential healthcare products locally by 2030, with packaging identified as a critical component of the pharmaceutical value chain.

Iziaq Adekunle Salako, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, stated this while declaring open the 8th Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo in Lagos. 

He said the era of Nigeria depending on importation for its medicine needs must end, especially after lessons from COVID-19 vaccine nationalism and recent disruptions caused by the United States foreign aid embargo. 

He noted that localisation must go beyond packaging imported Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in Nigeria to building full value chain capacity in research, API production, formulation, quality assurance and distribution, including biologics and vaccines. 

This framing positions packaging as one link in a broader industrial chain rather than an end in itself.

US$2 Billion Secured at Single-Digit Interest Rates

Salako highlighted government interventions, stating that the Presidential Initiative to Unlock Healthcare Value Chains has secured US$2 billion in commitments at single-digit interest rates with 20 to 25 year tenor, with about 50 Nigerian health firms already in advanced funding discussions. 

He said the Presidential Executive Order for zero tariff on pharmaceutical machinery and APIs is already benefiting 87 local manufacturers across almost 1,000 Harmonized System codes.

Import Volumes Decline as Local Manufacturers Expand

He added that NAFDAC data shows finished pharmaceutical imports have declined from 4.03 billion units to 1.13 billion units as of 2025, while the number of active local pharma companies has grown from less than 180 in 2021 to over 200. 

He stated that two Nigerian products have attained WHO prequalification, the first in West and Central Africa, while local production of HIV, Hepatitis and Syphilis Rapid Diagnostic Test kits through partnerships with Codix, Abbott and Afrimedical is on track to end 99 percent diagnostic imports.

AfCFTA Offers Access to 1.5 Billion African Consumers

Salako urged manufacturers to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area to access the 1.5 billion African population instead of seeing African countries as small, fragmented markets. 

For packaging suppliers, expanded local pharmaceutical production generates demand for blister packs, cartons, labels, closures and primary containers meeting regulatory standards.

Scaling domestic manufacturing also requires packaging lines capable of handling higher volumes and compliance documentation for export markets, making packaging investment integral to Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sovereignty ambitions.

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