Holds mid-year meeting, public lecture July 11 to 13
Board of Fellows of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (BOF PSN) has decried inability of Federal Health Institutions (FHIs), including teaching hospitals and federal medical centres to pay a N6 billion debt owed local manufacturers under the aegis of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG MAN).
BOF PSN disclosed this at a press conference in Lagos, over the weekend, heralding its mid-year meeting and 5th public lecture, scheduled for July 11 to 13. The theme of the lecture is ‘Leveraging Mentorship for Professional Growth and National Development’.
Chairperson, BOF PSN, Dr. Joel E.B. Adagadzu, decried FG’s inequity in budgetary allocation to health, especially to the pharmaceutical sector and delay in payment for drug supply to health institutions.
He said: “On debt to companies, which also affects us, not much has happened. BOF PSN and PMG MAN have been trying to push government to meet up with the obligation. The truth is that government owes some companies for more than four years. The money is more than N6 billion. And this is exactly what I meant when I talked about enabling environment.
“Many of our companies cannot survive, if you owe us money for that long. You can imagine. You borrow money at commercial rate and supply government with products you have produced, and most of the products that are produced by local companies, sometimes, are 20 per cent less what multinationals sell.
“They are affordable, and the only way they can be affordable is if we sell at very low margins. The margin local pharmaceutical companies make is probably 10 per cent of what multinationals make.”
So, if you make such low margin and they also owe you money, plus the interests you pay to banks, it’s not going to work. We are still appealing to the government to try and pay us.”
