With Matthew Denis
Tuyil Pharmaceutical Company: Tuyil Pharmaceutical is a major company in the pharmaceutical sector, with a presence in all parts of Nigeria. The decision of Tuyil to begin production in Kwara has extra significance, given the importance of pharmaceutical production in the national economy. The federal government is very aware that Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry is relatively small and the installed capacity only caters for about 50.75 per cent of the nation’s drug needs. The country is still largely dependent on the importation of drugs. As a result, a ban on the importation of a number of drugs has been instituted in order to stimulate local production.
The raw material requirements of the sector can be classified into heavy and fine chemicals. While the heavy chemicals are mainly mineral and petrochemical-based, most of the fine chemicals are agri-related and Kwara State has many of the relevant resources.
Tuyil Pharmaceutical decided to locate a manufacturing plant in Kwara State because of the peaceful environment and infrastructural advantages such as a good road network and adequate supplies of water and electricity.
Business Monitor International believes that signs for private-sector involvement in African healthcare are very good after the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) unveiled a US$l-billion support package for the development of private healthcare on the continent.
Although Nigeria is introducing a national health insurance scheme, BMI suggests that the increasingly popular concept of health savings accounts (HSAs) could provide a solution for many millions of Nigerians, particularly those employed in the informal economic sector.
An aspect of Tuyil’s corporate social investment was revealed in 2009 when it donated a building for the use of the secretariat of the Association of Resident Doctors in Ilorin.
