The Katsina State government has donated land to National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) for the manufacture of herbal medicines to address the challenge of traditional alternative medicines.

Director-general of NIPRD, Dr. Obi Adigwe, who disclosed this while addressing journalists at a press conference in Abuja, said the idea  was to actualise the ultimate goal of integrating herbal products into modern healthcare system to help over 2.5 million children who were  affected by malnutrition every year.

“The Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs) is a simple therapy that will help to quickly address the severe acute malnutrition.

“However the status quo is that the Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs) that  are currently being used in Nigeria and most of West Africa is important and we have the capacity to develop the industry for our Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs),” he said

He noted that he had now been invited to develop a robust and comprehensive framework that would ensure that all stakeholders would benefit.

“From the person who processes it, to the person who sells it and the local manufacturers who have the capacity will start to manufacture RUTFs.

“The places where these RUTFs are procured and were they undergo logistics and supply chain processes to the very last man so that a value chain is created from the farm to the child who needs the RUTFs,” he said

Adding that the Contextual Processing Protocols (CPP) projects for harnessing phytomedicinal potential of natural resources in the 36 states including FCT, and 10 states have been approached with Kaduna State at advanced stage of deployment.

He commended the Katsina State governor, Aminu Masari, for donating a land to support NIPRD on the production of herbal medicines.

He further said that the local manufacturers are going to benefit from NIPRD produce that would also lead ultimately to an increase in government revenue.