The Politics of Pharmaceutical Regulation in Nigeria: Policy Options for Third World Countries

This paper examines the influence of politics on the regulation of the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Noting that social regulation is inseparable from politics, the paper argues that certain characteristics of the pharmaceutical industry itself predisposes it to corruption, thus emphasizing the need for regulatory agencies to be strong and determined in carrying out their duties. Drawing insights from two case studies in pharmaceutical regulation in Nigeria, and on the basis of evidence gathered through personal interviews with stakeholders in the industry, the paper demonstrates that regulation of the pharmaceutical sector touches the cords of divergent powerful interests in business and can, therefore, be acrimonious. This is true particularly of developing or Third World economies where the bulk of pharmaceutical products are imported; and where governments often establish weak institutions, processes and structures to control pharmaceutical products manufacturing, distribution and drug prescribing in an environment where the existence of cartels built on free enterprise is the norm rather than the exception. The paper discusses the implications of these factors for social regulation in general and suggests social governance through collaborative public policy-making and implementation to make regulation less acrimonious. In the very essential pharmaceutical industry, this is expected to achieve a welfare-oriented balance between the pursuit of the objectives of sectoral growth, the profit motive of the entrepreneur and the quest to make safe, quality and affordable medicines available to the teeming populations in the Third World. Key Words: Politics; Policy; Social Regulation; Implementation; Third World