The Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA), has called on private sector players, non-governmental organisations, and faith-based institutions to invest
By Ijeoma Olorunfemi
NNMDA’s Director-General, Prof. Martins Em
eje, who made the call on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said such investment would drive innovation and sustainable healthcare solutions in Nigeria.
Emeje noted that though there was the political will from the government but there were lot of projects across the government’s purview that required funding, hence the need for private sector participation in R&D.
“We are all aware that there is high competition for the limited and scarce resources, which it is important the private sector gets actively involved.
“With the high competition for limited resources, it’s essential that private organisations, including banks, pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural and food industries, as well as churches and NGOs, actively invest in R&D,” he said.
He noted that such investments would not only foster national development but also benefit the funders, who would retain ownership of the intellectual property and commercial outputs of any research they support, in line with global best practices.
He noted that such investments would not only foster national development but also benefit the funders, who would retain ownership of the intellectual property and commercial outputs of any research they support, in line with global best practices.
Emeje encouraged organisations to approach the NNMDA for partnerships, assuring them of mutual benefits and a “win-win” outcome for both investors and the public.
He highlighted that solutions developed through R&D would directly improve community wellbeing.
“If you fund research, you own the result, government benefits through the skill acquisition and equipment retention by institutions, but the intellectual property and commercial output belongs to the funder.
“The private organisations should feel free to talk to us, to make deals with us, to negotiate, sign Memorandums of Understanding because at the end it will be a win-win situation.
“You get a product or service out there, you get your profit, you recoup your investment, the community is better, because the solution to the problems in the community will become available to our people,” Emeje said.
Emeje recalled that the National Assembly passed a resolution formally recognising natural medicine as a distinct and mainstream field and no longer to classified as alternative medicine.
According to him, it means political will from both the executive and legislative arms of government.
He further disclosed that the NNMDA had achieved several feats in the past two years, including the establishment of Nigeria’s first herbal pharmacy and documentation of indigenous medical knowledge.
Part of their achievements, he also said was the accreditation by the Federal Ministry of Education to award a national diploma in natural medicine.
“For the first time, we have full biometric and digital documentation of traditional practitioners in an entire local government in Oyo State. This is how standardisation begins,” he said.
The NNMDA boss added that medicinal farms had been set up in Plateau, Ebonyi, and Nasarawa states and that the agency now harvested and processed its own herbs to make medicines available through its pharmacy.
“Our herbal pharmacy currently provides remedies for 23 different ailments which is a social service and not commercialised.
“Nobody is going to pay anything for any product; you just pay the production cost and it is a way of renewing the hope of our people,” Emeje said.
The d-g lamented the nation’s overreliance on imported pharmaceuticals in spite of being the world’s largest producer of cassava, a major source of starch majorly used in drugs production.
He said they started producing pharmaceutical-grade starch with support from the National Assembly.
He, however, called on relevant stakeholders to support the government, NNMDA for more results, adding that they needed to sustain the momentum of progress so far made (NAN)http://www.nannews.ng