Soaring prices of drugs, medical access deepen emergency in health sector, engender spike in fake drugs

Rising prices of drugs and cost of accessing hospitals are gradually taking proper health care away and out of the reach of most, who have been fighting for daily survival on account of the astronomical increase in virtually everything needed for sustenance.

This follows the twin policies of the present government, which involved fuel subsidy removal and unification of the exchange rate leading to over 200 percent increase in the cost of goods and service leaving most Nigerians economically stranded.

Their plight is now being compounded by the cost of medications and hospital care, exposing them to unwarranted death from preventable conditions. President Bola Tinubu’s executive order of  June 2024 aimed at reducing drug costs by abolishing tariffs, excise duties, and Value Added Tax on pharmaceutical machinery and raw materials have not achieved any positive effect, as prices of drugs have continued to soar. Nigerians continue to battle soaring medication prices.

Government Half Measure

The intended policy, designed to  alleviate  the financial burden on patients, remains largely unenforced, resulting in no relief for consumers, or manufacturers.

In a recent report, SB Morgen Intelligence on the spike in drug prices titled, “Paying the Price on Health,” said that older Nigerians daily rely on antihypertensive drugs, which they see as not just a medical necessity, but   a lifeline that must be consistently taken, particularly when managing a condition as pervasive as hypertension. Missing doses can have severe consequences, exacerbating the risks associated with elevated blood pressure. Yet, the price of this medicine has soared out of reach.

Investigation revealed that a concerning  trend in the pricing of generic and commonly dispensed antihypertensive drugs like amlodipine and lisinopril has increased by 100% and 140%, respectively, since 2024 compared to their selling prices in 2022.

Antibiotics

The prices of antibiotics, crucial for treating bacterial infections, have seen unprecedented spikes. Between 2019 and 2024  the cost and selling prices of Ampiclox surged, recording a staggering increase of 1,390% and 1,100%, respectively. The exit of pharmaceutical giants may have played a role, leading to increased forex cost transferred to consumers.

Antimalarials:

In a nation struggling with 27% of the global malaria burden, the antimalarials are a lifeline. While antimalarial drugs experienced a lower rate of increase compared to other categories, specific drugs like Lonart DS witnessed a significant cost and selling price surge of 110% and 92.3%, respectively, reflecting the strain on a nation battling malaria and economic woes.

Painkillers

In the world of pain relief, across  the counter drugs like Paracetamol, which is  locally manufactured,  or Novalgin, there has been  a staggering 450% price increase due to escalating production costs, which makes them unaffordable, given the fact that they the commonest medication.

Common Cold Medicines

Examining the cost and selling price of medications in this category reveals that Actifed consistently had the highest costs and selling prices from 2023 to 2025. This could be attributed to the foreign aspect of the company’s production process, making it susceptible to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. It used to sell for less than N500, but now sells for N5000.

Different Drug Classes

While the SB Morgen Intelligence report primarily focused on key drug categories, such as antibiotics and painkillers, Business Hallmark’s investigations of other additional classes like anticid, antihelmintic, antitussive, and antiasthmatic drugs reveal staggering price hike.

Insulin, for instance, rose by 29 per cent from N14,000 in June 2024 to N18,000 in August 2025, while a glucometer spiked 41 per cent from N20,500 to N29,000.

For hypertension patients, prescriptions are no less costly. Metformin increased by 30 per cent, moving from N500 to N650, while amlodipine climbed 33 per cent, rising from N1,800 to N2,400. Exforge, another hypertension drug, soared 83 per cent from N32,800 to N60,000.

Helpless Situation

The situation is dire for malaria treatment as drug prices have nearly doubled. Coartem, a widely used antimalarial, jumped 124 percent from N3,800 to N8,500, while Artesunate injection climbed 56 per cent from N1,600 to N2,500. The price of the Lokmal tablet rose from N1,200 last year to N2,450 now, which is a 104.2 per cent increase.

Pharmacists have voiced dismay  that the effects of the executive order on pharmaceutical products have not yet been realized.

They noted  that measures, such as access to low-interest loans, simplified drug importation processes, favorable foreign exchange rates, and improved power supply would help lower the prices of drugs.

Three months ago, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, disclosed on his X handle that in a landmark move to revitalize the Nigerian health sector, President Bola Tinubu signed an Executive Order to increase local production of healthcare products, including pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, devices such as needles and syringes, biologicals, medical textile, and among others.

The order also provides for establishing market-shaping mechanisms such as framework contracts and volume guarantees, to encourage local manufacturers.

The minister  stated that the implication of the order is to move  towards market-based incentives to encourage medical industrialisation, reducing costs of medical products through import substitution over time, creating and retaining economic value, and enabling job creation in the healthcare value chain

A Senior Vice President for Advantage Africa, a health care agency, Adewale Oladigbolu, noted that,  “We haven’t seen any impact of the implementation of the order.

“We haven’t seen a drop in drug prices. What we have seen is the stability of the exchange rate, price fluctuation is reduced, but the prices are still up there. What we had was galloping inflation and galloping increasing prices of medicines.

“That’s why I always say, before the pronouncement of any policy, before implementation, we should just try to do a baseline study on where we are and the implementation, we should try to check where we have moved to.”

Speaking on the matter, a former chairman of the Lagos State branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Gbolagade Iyiola stressed  that the exchange rate remains a key factor contributing to high drug prices, despite the executive order

“The Executive Order is about Customs duty on raw materials, it doesn’t cover finished drug products. Even the Customs duty on raw materials is only 20 per cent.

“Again, the dollar rate used to be N400 years back, but it’s now at N1500-N1600, and only 30 per cent of drug products are manufactured in Nigeria, according to our statistics.

“So, what the executive order has done is that it’s only a fraction of the cost implications it removed. The Order is a good one and we commend the government for it, at least, some logistics costs are removed, but the cost is negligible. So, you don’t expect the Executive Order to bring the price of the imported products down.

“If 70 per cent of drug products are imported, their prices will not change as of now. So, it remains only 30 per cent of drugs are locally produced, and out of those that are locally produced, the problem we still have now is that we are not sure if the Order is being implemented because they say they were preparing the circular a month ago.”

These skyrocketing prices  are, however, forcing many patients to skip their lifesaving medications and instead turn to unapproved alternatives and counterfeit drugs. Reports suggest that due to high costs, the availability of essential medicines in public health facilities has decreased, with up to 40% of commonly used drugs often being out of stock. The prices of branded medicines have risen sharply, but even generic drugs have not been spared, with average increases of 30-40% across various drug categories..

Analysts have attributed the surge in drug prices to factors such as the devaluation of the national currency, unstable foreign exchange rates, reliance on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients, and heavy dependence on drug imports, among many other micro and macroeconomic factors.

The impact of this rise in price is significant and affects the Nigerian consumers, the pharmaceutical companies, and the healthcare ecosystem. The consumers have affordability issues, accessibility issues and health impact crises. According to a report by BMC Health Services Research titled “affordability of essential medicines in Nigeria”, over 60% of Nigerians now struggle to afford essential medicines, with many having to forgo treatment or seek alternative therapies due to high costs. The rising costs have led to a 20-30% reduction in medication adherence rates, particularly among patients with chronic diseases who require ongoing treatment. Nigerians’ out-of-pocket expenditure on healthcare, including medicines, has increased significantly, with the average family spending 35-40% of their income on healthcare expenses. Even when medicines are available, high transportation costs and limited distribution in rural areas exacerbate the issue of accessibility.

The inability to afford medicines often leads to delayed or skipped treatment, worsening health outcomes and increasing the risk of complications. High costs hinder the effective management and prevention of diseases, contributing to higher rates of morbidity and mortality from conditions that are, otherwise, preventable or manageable.

Fake and Expired Drugs

The impact on the pharmaceutical industry is enormous. The rising cost of drugs has affected demand for their products. It has almost led to the sale of fake and expired drugs as most drugs over stay on the shelf before purchase. For them not lose their money, they simply alter the expiry dates and put the drugs back to the market at the expense public health.

Others import and make substandard drugs to ensure lower prices and demand for them, again threatening public health.

NAFDAC Complicity

There’s, however, another dark side of them overlooked by some observers. Investigations have shown that ironically, the National Agency for Foods, Drugs Administration Control is also a contributing factor to the hike in prices of drugs through its exorbitant registration fees. For example, to register a supplement, is as high as N1.5 m, and this is still not automatic. The registration may drag to almost three years as officials are reportedly in the habit of foot dragging by employing all manner of tactics to extort more money. Prescription drugs registration is as high as N5m. This is the reason many drugs are unregistered, or bearing fake registration.

Many drugs in the market now according to investigations are smuggled, and this compounds the hike in prices.