By Blessing Otobong-gabriel
The Federal Government has inaugurated a Ministerial Committee to drive the development of phytomedicine in Nigeria, the initiative which aims to harness the country’s rich biodiversity to produce high-quality phytomedicines, promoting increased access to healthcare, revenue generation, job creation, and economic growth.
Minister of state for health & social welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako at the Inauguration of the ministerial committee on the development of the Phytomedicine Value chain held at the minister’s conference room, federal ministry of health and social welfare on Monday said Nigeria is blessed with vast biodiversity and the traditional use of medicinal plants and natural medicine to treat and manage various ailments. Yet, this enormous resource has remained largely underutilized, undervalued, and insufficiently integrated into our mainstream health and economic systems.
The Minister noted, as part of the current administration’s commitment to Universal Health coverage, economic diversification, and Job and wealth creation, the federal ministry of health and social welfare is advancing the Phytomedicine Value Chain Initiative. This is not just a health policy; it is also a socio-economic policy.
“Accordingly, the establishment of this Ministerial Committee is a strategic step towards realizing a sustainable and globally competitive phytomedicine industry in Nigeria”.
Iziaq charged the Committees to develop a comprehensive framework for the commercialization of phytomedicine products in Nigeria – spanning research, standardization, quality control, intellectual property protection, and market entry, identify key phytomedicinal products with commercial potential and facilitate partnerships between traditional medicine practitioners, research institutions, and the private sector for product development, propose policy reforms and regulatory mechanisms that will enable an enabling business environment for phytomedicine commercialization, while ensuring patient safety and efficacy standards and ensure alignment with national health strategies and global best practices, in line with WHO guidelines on traditional medicine. Among others.
In his opening remark, the Director Traditional, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine (TCAM), Department of Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Titus Tile, said phytomedicine plants and plant-derived substances for medicinal purposes, and it is the most widely used branch of traditional medicine globally.
According to him, Nigeria is blessed with tens of thousands of medicinal plants that can be utilized for health, economic, and national development goals.
He informed, the global herbal medicine market is estimated to be worth $135 billion in 2022 and projected to reach $178.4 billion in 2026, with an average growth rate of 8.1%. Nigeria currently is not benefiting from this market.
He explained that this initiative aligns with the Presidential Initiative for unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain, aiming to boost local manufacturing of phytomedicines and catalyze job creation and economic diversification.
“The Ministerial Committee will contribute to the development of the phytomedicine value chain, and its members are expected to work together to achieve the objectives of the initiative”.
Responding, the Director General, National Institute for pharmaceutical Research and Development, (NIPRD) during the inauguration of the Ministerial Committee on the commercialization of phytomedicines development on Monday highlighted the vast potential of phytomedicine, with thousands of plants that Nigeria hasn’t harnessed properly until now.
He mentioned that the phytomedicine sector is estimated to hit half a trillion dollars (approximately $500 billion) globally in the next few years.
“It is also pertinent to state here that the global phytomedicine market is fast approaching half a trillion US Dollars. It is therefore unacceptable for a country as richly endowed as Nigeria to continue playing at the periphery of this strategic sector. Already, Mr President has given our sector the highest priority, with the Presidential Initiative to Unlock Value Chains, and the recent Presidential Executive Order on Pharma and Allied Sectors. This Ministerial Committee leverage this political will to commercialise our phytomedicines in a manner that is sustainable, competitive, multi-faceted and inclusive.”
NIPRD DG emphasized Nigeria’s favorable climate, ecology, soil conditions, topography, and rich biodiversity, positioning the country to produce high-quality phytomedicines.
He also outlined the potential benefits of phytomedicine development, to includes increased access to healthcare, socioeconomic objectives, revenue generation, job creation, capacity building and technology transfer.
He assured the Honourable Minister that the committee is committed to undertaking its responsibilities with the highest sense of national responsibility and will work with stakeholders to ensure the development of safe, efficacious, and affordable phytomedicines.
He requested the Honourable Minister’s support, to hosting high-level meetings with development partners and ambassadors, joining facility visits for factories.
He Pledged the committee’s commitment to working with stakeholders to achieve these goals.
