*Says elements within NACA collaborating with fraudulent contractors to undermine process, sabotage government’s effort
*Wants DSS to investigate activities of politically exposed persons involved as NACA contractors
*Institutions must be empowered to uphold Nigeria – Oke
By BASHIR ADEFAKA
“In Nigeria, we have human and natural resources. What the problem has been is mismanagement that is corruption. You cannot continue to steal the money meant to treat your own people and still steal the money given to your country for this same purpose by foreign donors and you think we can continue to rely on foreign aids. Because, one day, those foreign donors will get angry and stop giving,” Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani said.
The decision of the Nigerian Government to embark on direct purchase of antiretroviral drugs for the treatment of HIV patients in the country has secured the support of major Non-Governmental Organizations in Nigeria.
The groups, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International Nigeria, say the decision, if implemented, will enable available drugs for the treatment to cover more people living with the viral disease in Nigeria.
Addressing a press conference in Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday, Mr. Auwal Ibrahim Musa a.k.a. Rafsanjani, the Executive Director of CISLAC, noted that the groups decided to come out in support of government on the direct purchase of HIV drugs from the manufacturers because they saw it as a good policy for the good of the people and in effort to curb corruption and sabotage of its effort as currently ongoing in the National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA).
The CISLAC’s boss wondered that despite efforts of government locally and donors internationally towards eradicating HIV in the country, the situation continued to be worse due to high cost of the drugs and that where such patients were compelled to seek cheaper alternatives of getting treated, they have been falling for fake and substandard drugs which, in the end, further cause damage to their health.
Confidently noting that there is collaborative effort between the only one contractor that has singlehandedly supplied the HIV drugs to NACA for the past five years and some elements in the Agency to do the wicked act against their own people by corruptly sabotaging the effort being made, the group is asking the Federal Government to compel NACA to go ahead, against the resistance of the elements, and remove the middleman impediment by purchasing the drugs directly from the manufacturers.
According to CISLAC’s boss, in his out-of-prepared address comments, “The people who are sabotaging the effort of government in ensuring easy access to drugs for the treatment of HIV are hiding but, we have a duty to expose them for the authorities to see and act.
“It is as a result of this that we call on government to procure these drugs directly”, Rafsanjani said in the press conference address.
He noted that it is not as if diseases such as HIV even malaria cannot be eradicated in Nigeria but that the corrupt people stealing the money meant to take care of these issues are responsible for why they linger to go.
“Unfortunately, despite that the Ministry of Health in the country is inadequately funded, even the money contributed and donated by foreign donors, people here steal it. It is sad and shameful.
“Sad also, that this happens under a government that is fighting corruption. But you cannot blame this government because, it has been a continuous thing that people want to remain continuously corrupt,” he said adding that, “When Transparency International brings its corruption index and Nigeria is scored low, some people come out to dismiss it. But Nigerians, who witness this, know what is happening.”
Substantiating his claims, Musa Rafsanjani said in Nigeria currently it happens to the extent that to get treatment in hospital, doctor needs to be bribed or he is not available; to get security, police needs to be bribed and that admission into the university is not easily come by except that admission seeker bribes his way into the institution.
Noting that saying the reality should not be seen as CISLAC working against the government of the country, the executive director said, “When government does wrong, we say it. When it does the right thing, we commend and encourage it. We see this policy as a good one and so we have come out to support the government on it.
Warning that, “We cannot be a serious country if health and education are undermined,” he expressed concerns that the politicians in Nigeria not like education and health of the people, hence they don’t adequately fund the two core sectors.
He said people continue to corruptly sabotage government and even foreign donors’ efforts at eradicating diseases in Nigeria because, according to him, there is no political will to stop corruption.
“That is why we say poverty in Nigeria is artificial because the resources are there but landing in private pockets and the people must be fished out.
“Sometimes it makes no sense for us to call ourselves African giants and we still depend on America. It is a shame. We cannot produce drugs to treat HIV cases even at this age except we import from China. So, when America shuts down, Nigeria shuts down. When America opens, we open. Why can’t we depend on ourselves in this country?” He sadly asked.
The rights activist said, “Overdependence is a dangerous trend,” that the means to get developed is available except that corruption is the bane of achieving it.
“In Nigeria, we have human and natural resources. What the problem has been is mismanagement that is corruption.
“You cannot continue to steal the money meant to treat your own people and still steal the money given to your country for this same purpose by foreign donors and you think we can continue to rely on foreign aids. Because, one day, those foreign donors will get angry and stop giving,” Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani said.
In his prepared address, he said, “Corruption in the treatment of HIV/AIDS is no different from the corruption in the health sector. In 2003, Nigeria’s ARV programmes attracted much criticism when treatment centres were alleged to be handing out expired drugs and rejecting patients.
“In a detailed investigative news report of December 28, 2018, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) revealed that hundreds of millions of naira released for HIV campaigns, counseling and testing services might have ended in private pockets of contractors and government officials, as companies were specifically registered to siphon funds meant to save the lives of the infected.”
7 prayers of CISLAC/TI Nigeria
In its prayers, CISLAC/TI Nigeria “Insists that fraudulent contractors who undermine the Public Procurement Act must be thoroughly scrutinized and discouraged from defrauding the government through inflated anti-retroviral drugs supply services.”
It also, among other prayers, “Calls on the newly appointed Director General of NACA to engage stringent reforms in the Agency’s procurement process for impactful, efficient and cost-effective wider and sustainable service delivery in Nigeria.”
“Calls on the Director General to device appropriate sustainability plan for the procurement of drugs and consumables through cost-effective and encouraged technical know-how for domestic production in the presence of dwindling donors’ support; and avert recurring of challenges thrown at the country by Covid-19.
“Calls on DSS to investigate the activities of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) who constitute themselves as faceless contractors and their relationship with the leadership of the Network of People Living with HIV, who we learnt are secretly used to obstruct and frustrate NACA’s effort from directly purchasing from manufacturers.
“As part of sustainability plan, CISLAC/TI Nigeria calls on regulatory authorities, like NAFDAC, to support and enhance local production of affordable antiretroviral drugs with serious consideration while issuing marketing authorisation to local manufacturers.
“Also calls for review of heavy tax burden on the pharmaceutical sector to avert multiple taxations by local, state and federal governments as well as high tariffs on raw materials, packaging materials and other ancillary materials used to manufacture medicines, primarily to encourage local production in the country.
“Further calls on the government to develop a pricing policy to reduce reported high prices and wide disparity between prices of essential drugs in the country.”
The group made all the prayers adding that increasing transparency is important in health services and so that it is committed to ensuring that improving the lives of Nigerian citizens takes precedence.
Contributing, a legal practitioner and board member of CISLAC/Transparency International Nigeria, Barrister Adeshina Oke, harped on the importance of good health to leadership, productive economy and healthy citizens.
According to him, “A sick country cannot have a good leadership, neither can it have a productive economy or citizen. Hence we must get read of anything capable of deteriorating our health as a nation.
“And we cannot depend on donors forever as a country. In the long term, we must begin to look towards empowering our higher institutions for research purposes. These drugs could be a lot cheaper if they are manufactured here in Nigeria.
“Nigeria must empower her institutions so that they can be fit enough to uphold the country, should in case that day comes and funding stops coming in for purchase of retroviral drugs. And the time to start preparing is now,” Oke stated.
