FEC moves to curb medical tourism, approves N2.3bn for local drug production
By Kunle Sanni
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved two major initiatives aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system—one to reduce pharmaceutical costs and another to improve cardiac care in the North West.
Speaking after the FEC meeting in Abuja on Monday, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, announced the approval of Medipool, a centralized group purchasing organization. The initiative is part of the presidential directive to drive down drug prices and expand access to essential medicines through local production and strategic procurement.
Pate explained that Medipool will aggregate national demand for pharmaceuticals, negotiate competitive prices, and ensure quality supply across federal hospitals and primary care centers. It will also support import substitution and local manufacturing by removing tariffs on raw materials.
The program will operate as a public-private partnership and has been vetted by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC). It is benchmarked against similar models in countries like Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.
Medipool’s functions will include procurement planning, logistics, distribution monitoring, quality assurance, regulatory compliance, financial management, and capacity building—ensuring a steady supply of affordable, high-quality medicines nationwide.
In a related development, the FEC also approved a N2.3 billion contract for the procurement and installation of a cardiac catheterization machine at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) in Sokoto.
Pate said the new facility will enable the hospital to diagnose and treat serious cardiovascular conditions such as heart attacks and arrhythmias. The investment is expected to serve the entire North West region.
He added that this initiative will reduce the need for Nigerians to seek cardiac care abroad and strengthen the country’s capacity to address critical health challenges locally.
