The Federal Executive Council FEC has approved a significant policy aimed at reducing the cost of healthcare in Nigeria by ensuring more affordable access to essential medicines and health products. The initiative will be implemented through Medipool, a group purchasing organization tasked with driving competitive pricing.
This was disclosed by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, during a briefing with State House correspondents following the FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to Pate, the approved policy leverages Medipool to centralize procurement and aggregate demand across Nigeria's health sector. By doing so, the Federal Government aims to negotiate lower prices for essential medicines, improve supply chains, and support local pharmaceutical manufacturers.
"This policy will enhance the supply of basic healthcare commodities and improve funding flows-particularly through federal tertiary hospitals-while also reshaping the domestic market to ensure lower prices and wider access," Pate said.
He noted that Nigerians have been struggling with the rising cost of quality pharmaceuticals. The policy, he emphasized, is designed to make life-saving medicines more affordable while boosting local production.
Pate added that the initiative aligns with the Presidential directive to unlock the healthcare value chain and follows the Executive Order signed by President Tinubu in June 2024. That order provided tax incentives for local drug manufacturers by removing tariffs on imported raw materials.
"By using the government's monopsony power-as a large and unified buyer-we can influence the market, negotiate better prices, and redirect demand toward reliable local suppliers," he explained.
The scope of the Medipool initiative includes procurement planning, logistics, supply chain management, quality assurance, regulatory compliance, financial management, and capacity building. It also focuses on import substitution and establishing payment systems that ensure sustained availability of affordable, high-quality medicines through public-private partnerships.
Pate noted that Medipool has been vetted by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and benchmarked against similar organizations in countries like Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.
In a separate development, the FEC also approved a N2.3 billion contract for the procurement and installation of a cardiac catheterization machine at Usman Dan Fodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto.
"This equipment will enable the hospital to provide advanced diagnostic and treatment services for heart conditions such as heart attacks and arrhythmias," Pate said. "It's a critical step in strengthening our federal teaching hospitals and reducing the need for Nigerians to seek medical treatment abroad."
He emphasized that the investment would serve not only Sokoto State and the North-West region, but also contribute to the broader transformation of Nigeria's healthcare system under President Tinubu's leadership.