By Asma’u Ahmad
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) says it has inaugurated a $5.2 million dollars medical storage facility in Lagos to enhance healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
A statement by the U.S. Embassy on Friday in Abuja said that the facility would enable the Ministry of Health to supply quality, life-saving health commodities to millions of Nigerians. It quoted USAID Health, Population and Nutrition Office Director, Heather Smith-Taylor, as saying that the Lagos Federal Medical Warehouse facility was constructed in partnership with Nigeria’s Ministry of Health.
Taylor said that the construction of the facility was also funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an international health financing organisation. “The new Lagos facility provides critical storage space for public health commodities at the central level, enabling the Ministry to ensure the provision of quality, life-saving health commodities for Nigerians through a central facility.
“With the opening of this warehouse, the Ministry of Health can safely store the medicines required to meet Nigeria’s annual needs for public health commodities in the foreseeable future. “This increase in the availability of high quality commodities will save lives from the lack of medications and proliferation of counterfeit products,” Taylor said.
According to him, the 3,500 square metre structure was shipped to Nigeria for on-site assembly, and features smooth dust-free floor surfaces, temperature regulating systems, security systems, thermal insulated ceilings and warehouse handling equipment.
The statement also quoted Nigerian Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, as saying in his remarks at the ceremony that his ministry would be “highly involved in the logistics” of the warehouse. “We will continue to offer support, monitor leakages and the expiration of commodities to ensure better healthcare for our citizens,” he said.
The statement further explained that the new facility was the second of its kind in Nigeria. “The first, which was Abuja Premier Medical Warehouse, was commissioned in 2017 by USAID Mission Director Stephen Haykin and Adewole.
“The two facilities are built to international standards to ensure the safe and efficient storage of medicines and other pharmaceutical products for effective distribution across Nigeria. “With the Ministry’s approval, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through USAID and the Global Fund provided support for the construction of the warehouses in both Abuja and Lagos,” it added.
