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By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has urged the Federal Government to make antivenom drugs free and fast-track local manufacturing, warning that Nigeria continues to lose about 2,000 lives annually to largely preventable snakebite envenoming.
The association said the country must urgently move from a donor-dependent supply chain to a self-sufficient production model to save lives and meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2030 target of halving snakebite-related deaths.
The call followed the death of Abuja-based singer, Ifunanya Nwangene, which ACPN described as a painful reminder of systemic gaps in access to lifesaving care. Speaking on behalf of the association’s leadership and members, ACPN National Chairman, Ambrose Eze, expressed deep condolences to the family, stressing that no Nigerian should die from a treatable condition. He said every life must be treated as a national priority.
Eze warned that snakebite envenoming remains one of the most neglected public health emergencies in the country. He disclosed that Nigeria records over 20,000 cases annually, with about 1,700 survivors left with permanent disabilities, including limb amputations caused by tissue necrosis and delayed treatment. According to him, the burden falls disproportionately on rural dwellers subsistence farmers, herders, women and children who often live far from functional health facilities and lack financial protection against catastrophic health costs.
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While the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, confirmed that antivenom was administered to the late Nwangene, the ACPN insisted that persistent stock-outs and what it termed the “referral trap” expose critical weaknesses in the health system. Eze noted that any delay whether from cost barriers, lack of stock or inadequate trained manpower can mean the difference between life and death. He added that despite national guidelines and the listing of antivenoms on the National Essential Medicines List, rising fatalities raise urgent questions about access to quality-assured products.
Turning the tragedy into a policy demand, the ACPN called for a one-off government investment of about $12 million to establish a local antivenom production plant. Eze said Nigeria currently spends close to $12 million each year importing antivenom vials, making local manufacturing both lifesaving and fiscally prudent. He also urged the Federal Government to approve full inclusion of antivenoms under the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to subsidise the average N40,000 treatment cost, which remains unaffordable for most rural Nigerians.
The association further condemned what it described as “administrative interference” undermining Drug Revolving Funds (DRF) in public hospitals. Eze argued that DRFs must be insulated and professionally managed to curb the recurring “stock-out syndrome” and ensure constant availability of emergency medicines and consumables. He said these challenges mirror findings in the 2026 Global Strike Out Snakebite (SOS) report, which showed that 98 per cent of Nigerian healthcare workers face severe constraints in delivering effective treatment.
As part of an eight-point roadmap, the ACPN recommended decentralising snakebite treatment to rural Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) and partnering with traditional rulers and healers to strengthen early referral systems. Eze also emphasised sustained public education to discourage harmful traditional practices, including the use of “black stones,” which often delay hospital care with fatal consequences.
He concluded by calling for the formal declaration of snakebite envenoming as a National Health Priority and a Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD). With political will, strategic investment and coordinated action, Eze said Nigeria can break the cycle of preventable deaths and disabilities. “With the right commitment, deaths and disabilities from snakebites can become largely preventable and, ultimately, a thing of the past,” he stated.
