Antibiotics: Tinubu Urged To Subsidise Medication For Indigent Patients
St. Rachael’s Pharma is calling upon President Bola Tinubu to centrally purchase antibiotics and have them distributed at subsidised rates to indigent patients in both federal teaching hospitals and medical centres, similar to the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) strategy of 1994, as the world commemorates World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week (WAAW).
Chairman of St. Rachael’s Pharma, Akinjide Adeosun, in a statement, yesterday, in Lagos, said the move would accelerate industrialisation, and manufacturing, as well as boost medicine security with attendant job creation.
He noted that the development would stabilise the price regime, and promote the availability and affordability of the products amid prevailing harsh economic realities in the country.
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According to him, palliative has the twin benefit of reducing deaths and elongating the lifespan of pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria. He said Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) had already caused substantial sicknesses and deaths globally, accounting for approximately 1.27 million fatalities in 2019, projections suggesting that by 2050, it could kill as many as 10 million people yearly.
Adeosun said that over the past century, antibiotics had enhanced the country’s capacity to treat infections and reduce mortality. He said while bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant, a limited pipeline of new antibiotics would take Nigeria to the old dark days.
The chairman noted that the theme of this year’s event, “Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together,” calls for cross-sectoral collaboration to preserve the effectiveness of antimicrobials.
He said to effectively reduce AMR, all sectors must use antimicrobials prudently and appropriately, as well as take preventive measures to decrease the incidence of infections and adopt good practices in the disposal of antimicrobial-contaminated waste.
Adeosun restated that AMR “is a threat to humans, animals, plants and the environment,” urging stakeholders in both the public and private sectors to unite against antimicrobial resistance to improve the life expectancy rate in Nigeria.
