The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has given the green light for the establishment of MediPool, a national group purchasing organisation (GPO) with the primary goal of significantly reducing the cost of critical medicines and healthcare supplies across Nigeria. This was announced by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, following a recent FEC meeting.
Minister Pate explained that MediPool is designed as a public-private partnership that will leverage the federal government’s significant purchasing power to negotiate lower prices from pharmaceutical suppliers. The initiative aims to enhance the accessibility of quality medicines for Nigerians while simultaneously providing support to the local pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.
“So it�s using the monopsony power of government as a large buyer of those commodities to negotiate lower prices and then channel those commodities,” stated Minister Pate, highlighting the core mechanism of the GPO.
The scope of MediPool will encompass a wide range of crucial functions, including procurement planning, supply chain logistics, distribution oversight, regulatory compliance, and stringent quality control measures. Furthermore, the program will actively promote import substitution and encourage increased investment in local pharmaceutical production, thereby bolstering domestic manufacturing capabilities.
Minister Pate elaborated, “It also covers import substitution, financial management and payment systems, capacity building and training, and contingency planning to ensure steady availability of essential drugs through public-private partnership.”
He further noted that the MediPool initiative has undergone thorough scrutiny by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and has been benchmarked against successful purchasing models implemented in countries such as Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.
“We believe that this is a major intervention that will shape the domestic market, so that the demand for quality pharmaceuticals can be channelled in a way that lowers cost and also improves quality and stimulates local manufacturing,” Minister Pate added, emphasizing the transformative potential of MediPool.
According to the Minister, the current administration has been actively exploring strategies to alleviate the burden of escalating drug prices on Nigerian citizens for over a year. He also pointed out that the issue of rising pharmaceutical costs is a global concern, citing recent actions in other countries.
Interestingly, Minister Pate referenced plans by U.S. President Donald Trump to sign an executive order aimed at significantly reducing prescription drug costs in the United States. However, health experts have cautioned that such price controls in major markets could potentially lead pharmaceutical companies to adjust supply chains or increase prices elsewhere, which might pose challenges for countries like Nigeria in accessing certain branded or specialized medications.
In a separate decision during the FEC meeting, a contract worth ?2.3 billion was approved for the procurement and installation of a state-of-the-art cardiac catheterisation lab at the Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital in Sokoto. Minister Pate stated that this new equipment will significantly enhance the hospital’s capacity to diagnose and treat complex cardiovascular conditions, including heart attacks and arrhythmias, ultimately improving healthcare outcomes in the region.
