By Asmaú Ahmad
The Federal Government says it will inaugurate a world class pharmaceutical warehouse for storage of medicines and other health commodities.
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, announced this in a statement issued by Mr Oshundun Olajide, Assistant Director, Media and Public Relations of the ministry on Monday in Abuja. The statement quoted the minister as saying the project will be inaugurated on May 31 at Oshodi, Lagos State.
Prof. Isaac Adewole
Adewole said the National Drug Policy stipulates that all medicines for public health should pass through an efficient National Warehousing System.
The minister explained that passage of the medicine through the national warehousing system was to ensure proper storage for maintenance of quality, efficacy, safety of the medicine and also for ease of recall.
Adewole said the official inauguration of the project was aimed at strengthening the National Warehousing System for adequate storage and distribution of essential medicines.
He added that the inauguration of the project also aim at improving the availability and accessibility of medicines and other health commodities to Nigerians.
He said the ministry in collaboration with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and The Global Fund (TGF) identified the need for a warehouse expansion project.
Adewole said the warehouse expansion project was to provide additional storage and proper management of medicines and pharmaceutical products in accordance with international best practice.
He added that the expansion project was to relieve the significant gap in the supply of central storage to serve the country’s health programmes.
“To realise the above vision and objectives, the ministry in collaboration with USAID and Global Fund has successfully built two Warehouses, one each in Abuja (Abuja Premier Warehouse) and Lagos, respectively.
“The Abuja Premier Warehouse which was commissioned on July 17, 2017, is catering for medicines and other health commodities needed in the Northern geopolitical zone while that of Lagos will serve the Southern zones.
“The federal government still hopes to replicate these in other geopolitical zones of the country to enhance better access to medicines by the public,’’ the minister said.
