Abuja, Nigeria – 22 September 2026
Propcom+ brought together livestock vaccine importers, regulators and industry associations in Abuja today for a forum aimed at fixing longstanding bottlenecks in vaccine importation by integrating the sector fully into Nigeria’s National Single Window (NSW).
The forum under the theme “Streamlining Livestock Vaccine Importation through the National Single Window,” drew representatives from the Veterinary Council of Nigeria, National Single Window secretariat, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), the Nigeria Customs Service, the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), veterinary associations and private-sector importers.
The event was convened in response to an earlier Propcom+ assessment that identified key regulatory bottlenecks affecting vaccine importation. Among the recommendations that emerged was a call to bring veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biologics fully onto the National Single Window platform. Propcom+ approached the NSW office and found the agency already receptive and in early conversations with veterinary stakeholders – a signal that led both sides to agree on convening a broader forum with a wider cross-section of importers and industry voices.
During her opening speech Dr Adiya Ode, Propcom+ Team Lead remarked that the underlying goal is to make vaccines more accessible, affordable and available in the best quality for farmers across Nigeria – including in the rural communities most affected by disease outbreaks in poultry and livestock.
In his presentation the NSW Director represented by Mr Usman Uthman walked participants through the platform’s purpose and progress. Since going live in March 2026, the National Single Window has consolidated import and export documentation across multiple agencies into a single entry point, replacing what had been a fragmented process requiring importers to engage NAFDAC, SON, NAQS, Customs and other agencies separately. He also reported that more than 140,000 licenses and permits have been issued through the platform in its first months of operation, with five agencies now fully onboarded alongside airlines and shipping lines.
Mr Uthman presenting NSW’s progress report since inception
“The rollout has been phased to avoid disrupting trade: phase one focused on import permits and documentation, while phase two, covering export permits and additional agencies including the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Central Bank of Nigeria is targeted for launch by the end of November 2026”, said the representative. He also highlighted plans to introduce risk-based clearance for compliant traders and to harmonize duplicate documentary requirements across agencies.
For the importers the forum was an opportunity to raise operational concerns, including delays in obtaining regulatory approvals, inconsistent decision-making on document rejections, the number of different bodies issuing import permits, and the case for embedding veterinary sector representation more directly within the single window process.
The interaction came to an end with a number of resolutions, including enhanced capacity building for vaccine importers on the National Single Window (NSW) platform, the creation of multi-stakeholder Technical Working Groups (TWGs), and the adoption and integration of identified sector-specific challenges into the platform to improve its responsiveness and efficiency.
Propcom+ will continue working with the National Single Window office to track implementation and ensure the sector’s input translates into concrete platform improvements.
