Minister Commissions Federal Warehouse
The Honourable Minister, Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, is scheduled to commission a world class pharmaceutical grade warehouse for storage of medicines and other health commodities, on 31st May, 2018 in Oshodi, Lagos.
The National Drug Policy stipulates that all medicines for public health should pass through an efficient National Warehousing System to ensure proper storage for maintenance of quality, efficacy, and safety and also for ease of recall, should there be need to do so.
The official launch of the project is aimed at strengthening the National Warehousing System for adequate storage and distribution of essential medicines, towards improving the availability and accessibility of medicines and other health commodities to the people of Nigeria.
The Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with United States for International Development (USAID) and The Global Fund (TGF) identified the need for a warehouse expansion project to provide additional storage and proper management of medicines and pharmaceutical products in accordance with international best practice and to relieve the significant gap in the supply of central storage to serve the country’s health programs.
To realize the above vision and objectives, the FMOH in collaboration with USAID and Global Fund has successfully built two Warehouses, one each in Abuja (Abuja Warehouse Premier Warehouse) and Lagos respectively.
The Abuja Premier Warehouse which was commissioned in July 17th, 2017 is catering for medicines and other health commodities needed in the Northern geopolitical zones while that of Lagos will serve the Southern zones. The FG still hopes to replicate these in other geopolitical zones of the country to enhance better access to medicines by the public.
Benefits of the Warehouse are as follows:
Ø Increase in the storage capacity and improved storage conditions of Medicines, reagents and other health commodities
Ø Improved accessibility of these products to the public.
Ø Enhancement of efficient distributions and maintenance of distribution channels.
Ø Effective and efficient management of the Medicines and other Health commodities.
Ø Can serve as capacity building outfit for professionals
Ø Cost of logistic components especially transportation will be reduced due to nearness to the health facilities.
Ø Donors and partners can now be assured that their resources will be properly handled, kept and utilized in accordance with international best practice.
Ø Commodities would be managed by professional Pharmacists
Ø Substandard and counterfeit products will completely eliminated from the system.
Oshundun Olajide
AD: Media and Public Relations
