The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is working to resolve irregularities in the Nigerian food export system, while also fostering initiatives to unlock the healthcare value chain for effective transformation.
Jumoke Oduwole, minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, stated this when Muhammad Pate, minister of Health and Social Welfare paid her a courtesy visit in Abuja on Wednesday.
Pate was accompanied by Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Both ministries, with their management, shared ideas aimed at addressing irregularities in the exportation of food and unlocking healthcare as well as other important issues.
Pate said that the issues have been lingering between the ministries and needed to be tackled effectively.
He said that the issues were important to both ministries, adding that the effort was to support President Bola Tinubu in his agenda towards transforming the country.
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“This meeting is bringing two sectors that are ordinarily not closely connected. But there are specific things that have prompted us to reach out, which has to do with the exportation of food and its regulation.
“The second element is the role of the regulatory body, NAFDAC, in constraining or enabling the trade that we have across various borders. The third issue is the regulatory function linked to our efforts to unlock the healthcare value chain.
“These are issues that have been lingering, and I thought we should seize this opportunity to come together, as we are all on the same team,” he stated.
The minister emphasised that the goal was to ensure Nigeria achieves significant progress in these areas over the long term.
In her response, Oduwole assured that both ministries would begin collaborating to unlock the healthcare value chain. She noted the importance of addressing these issues effectively, as they were crucial and required targeted action.
“I was briefed on the draft policy and the plan for manufacturing medical devices such as syringes and needles in Nigeria,” she said. “We need to identify key areas of concern, review resolutions, and determine where my ministry should weigh in during future discussions.”
The industry minister further explained that the meeting aimed to assess the merits and drawbacks of the policy, especially regarding manufacturing concerns.
“These matters fall directly under the eight-point agenda of Mr. President,” she added.
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