Policies and practices in Nigeria's pharmaceutical sector: A mixed methods exploration of stakeholders' perspectives on strategic reforms.

ABSTRACT

Background: Policies and practices are key factors that determine development in any sector. In the Nigerian setting however, there is lack of evidence that the pharmaceutical sector is embedded with contextual policies and practices that can expedite development in the system. This inadvertently has an impact as regards access to medicines for the citizenry. This study therefore aimed at adopting a bottom-up approach in gathering insights into stakeholders' perspectives on policies and practices in Nigeria's pharmaceutical sector, and how they influence Medicines' Security and consequent access to healthcare. Methods: Data were collected using a self completion questionnaire which was administered to stakeholders present during an event held in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, which focused on improving the Nigerian pharmaceutical sector. A total number of 82 questionnaires were administered to participants. Following retrieval of questionnaires, quantitative data were subjected to descriptive and inferential analyses, whilst textual data were analysed using thematic analysis approach. Results: Of the 82 questionnaires administered, response rate was 92.68%. Two-thirds of the participants were males (69.7%). A quarter of the study participants were between the ages of 41 and 50 years, whilst those above 50 years represented the most populous proportion of the sample (38.2%). A considerable proportion (48%) of the study participants indicated that current policy ecosystem was hostile for pharmaceutical sector growth and development. Also, majority (97.3%) of the study participants indicated that increased investment in health research could stimulate the development of the pharmaceutical sector. Majority of the study participants indicated the need for collaboration between pharmaceutical companies, research institutes and the petrochemical industry. Conclusion: This study consequently identified several critical factors that could stimulate development in the sector, including increased funding of research; stringent implementation of existing policies; and prioritisation of pharmaceutical sector by government and other key stakeholders.