TOWARDS the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) four, five and six by 2015, the Nigeria Customs Service has promised to look into the various challenges being faced by pharmaceutical agents while clearing pharmaceutical products at the nation's ports.

The MDGs four and five have to do with reducing child mortality and improving health care; while goal six deals with combating Human Immuno-deficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), malaria and other diseases.

The president of the Nigerian Representatives of Overseas Pharmaceutical Manufacturer (NIROPHARM) and Group Managing Director of Reals Pharmaceuticals Limited, Mr. Ade Popoola, speaking at the group's dinner meeting in Lagos revealed that the challenges, which his members were facing at the nation's ports could hamper the achievement of MDGs health in Nigeria.

Popoola disclosed that some NIROPHARM members were not enjoying port concession granted by the government on flimsy excuses by Custom officials.

He added that Customs officers sometimes demand that NIROPHARM members produce the government gazette granting the concession and that even when that was done the officials still refer the pharmacists to Abuja to authenticate the document at the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Other challenges, according to Popoola, included conflicts of pharmaceutical products classification or refusal to accept some products as Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT), Harmonised System Code and valuation constraint.

The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Hamman Ahmed, represented by the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr. John Atti, assured the group that their challenges would be critically look into with the aim of simplifying the process of realising the health MDGs in the country.

The Custom boss added that towards effective collaboration among the Nigeria Custom Service, the NIROPHARM and other stakeholders in the health sector, that Custom Service procedures particularly the application of tariff regimes as well as the enforcement of prohibition laws should not be unnecessarily be allowed to constitute barriers to import and export of goods and services.

The Nigeria Custom Service, Ahmed revealed, is particularly passionate about the attainment of goal four, which has to do with the reduction of child mortality; and goals five and six are concerned with improving health care and combating of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.