The agony faced by Africans during the last pandemic bout is still fresh in our memories. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a critical vulnerability in healthcare systems across Nigeria and Africa—the severe shortage and unavailability of essential medical devices. As the virus ravaged the continent, healthcare facilities faced unprecedented challenges in sourcing vital supplies, including personal protective equipment, ventilators, test kits, and pharmaceuticals. The strain on global supply chains and increased demand left many Nigerians and Africans grappling with the scarcity of life-saving medications and basic medical necessities.
Owing to the challenges faced by African countries, the World Health Organisation established the World Local Production Forum to shape strategies and foster partnerships to catalyse local production and technology transfer, allowing participating countries to develop capabilities and to ensure the preparedness, responsiveness and capability of the continent to tackle future emergency healthcare challenges. This project, initiated by the WHO, heralds a new era of innovation and self-sufficiency in the African healthcare landscape. This led to a concerted effort across various fields of human endeavours to collaborate to ensure that Africans enjoy good health through technology.
In recent years, medical technology has become a burgeoning part of medicine globally. However, in Nigeria, we still seem to be playing catch-up. According to data from the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, about 99 per cent of medical devices and over 70 per cent of generic pharmaceutical products are imported. Many tools to adequately monitor health conditions, like diabetes and hypertension, are manufactured outside the country, meaning that for every purchase or product imported, Nigerians are contributing to another country’s economy. This reveals a huge gap and an urgent need to strengthen local production capacities within the country for sustainable and uninterrupted access to healthcare essentials.
Non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of death in Nigeria, with diabetes, for example, affecting approximately 3.7 per cent of the adult population, many of whom remain undiagnosed and therefore unaware of the significant complications and risks associated with the disease. To enhance quality of life, these health conditions need to be managed properly. Recognising these challenges, the Federal Government has taken decisive steps to transform Nigeria’s healthcare landscape. Under the leadership of the Coordinating Minister of Health, the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain was launched as a key pillar of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. This initiative represents a bold and necessary shift toward self-sufficiency in healthcare, focusing on increasing domestic financing, incentivising local production, and upgrading critical healthcare infrastructure. The goal is to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imports and build a robust local manufacturing sector capable of meeting the nation’s healthcare needs.
A significant milestone in this journey was recently achieved with the approval of a medical relief programme designed to lower the cost of essential medical commodities. A crucial component of the programme is the procurement of an OnPoint blood glucose monitor for diabetes, locally manufactured from Colexa Biosensor—a private company based in Lagos and authorised to produce diagnostic test kits.
Notably, this is the first factory in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa to manufacture blood glucose meters and strips, and the government will be procuring these devices for distribution across primary healthcare centres in the country. This move is not only a step forward for diabetes care but also marks a turning point in Nigeria’s healthcare industrialisation efforts. By prioritising the local production of diagnostic tools, the government is signaling a firm commitment to fostering homegrown innovation and building a resilient healthcare sector. The establishment of Colexa Biosensor’s manufacturing facility by Nigerian entrepreneur Sammy Ogunjimi is a critical piece of the localisation and backward integration strategy championed by the government.
As we move forward, can we expect locally produced diagnostic tests to become the standard not just for diabetes, but for HIV and other critical health conditions? I believe this is the beginning of strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to manufacture medical technologies that will enhance access to affordable healthcare, and I encourage Colexa Biosensor to prioritise the widespread distribution and accessibility of OnPoint for Nigerians.
•Chidinma Onwumere, a health enthusiast, writes from Lagos
