The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the procurement of drugs for the treatment of HIV and the improvement of cancer care across the country.

Briefing newsmen at the end of the Council meeting, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, said the approvals followed the presentation of two separate memos by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to support the government’s ongoing healthcare interventions.

“Today, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare presented two memos for consideration of FEC, and the two were approved.”

According to the minister, the first approval is for the procurement of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to sustain Nigeria’s free treatment programme for people living with HIV/AIDS.

He explained that the intervention became necessary to allay growing fears of imminent shortages of the life-saving drugs.

“We know that Nigeria has a policy of providing free drugs to people living with HIV and AIDS. Earlier in the year, there was some anxiety that Nigeria was going to run out of ARV. With this approval, the anxiety is laid to rest.”

The contract, estimated at ₦9.99 billion to strengthen healthcare delivery, was awarded to a local pharmaceutical company, Fidson HealthCare Plc, to partner with a global brand to gradually build domestic capacity for the production of antiretroviral medicines.

He said: “But another significant part of this approval is that it is also being used to consolidate the programme of Mr President to unlock the healthcare value chain by giving the project to a local pharmaceutical industry that will work with a global brand so that gradually over time the capacity to manufacture ARV drugs in-country can be enhanced.”

The second memo, which secured Council approval, focuses on strengthening cancer treatment services in the country.

“The second memo is to replace, upgrade, and provide training for cancer treatments in six of our cancer centres, one per geopolitical zone, so that radiotherapy, which is an essential part of cancer treatment, can continue in these centres.”

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