Anambra Government, Global Fund partner To Upgrade State Pharmaceutical Store
By Chinwe Onuigbo, Awka
The Government of Anambra State through the state ministry of health,has collaborated with Global Fund in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),to upgrade the state pharmaceutical central store to an international standard.
Anambra State commissioner for health, Dr.Afam Obidike, while speaking at the official handover of the facility to UNICEF representative and acting Chief of Field office, Enugu, Olusoji Akiloye, stated that the intervention of global fund was timely as the state government has been planning on the upgrade.
“This is going to be a standard medical warehouse and this will translate to having our drugs because the potency of drugs is always affected by where it is stored or where it is coming from.We will see the difference when it is completed within three or four months.
“It will be a pharmaceutical warehouse under the ministry of health, occupying only pharm goods because it is going to have temperature regulation and environmental conduciveness for the commodities that would be inside it.”
Speaking further, the commissioner emphasized that the upgrade will aid the state to have Drug Management Agency that will directly get drugs from the manufacturers.
He said: ” this will make the drugs more cheaper in our public hospitals and the first process to achieving this is warehouse upgrade to accommodate the drugs and the second is,to have it at right temperature and also easy storage and accessibility and more importantly,we are working to have quality drug laboratory and the work is ongoing. This implies that any drug that will be sent out of the warehouse,must be tested and this will be a means of eliminating sub standard drugs in our hospitals.”
Dr. Obidike also disclosed that the state government will foot 15% of the bill. He revealed that Anambra was one of the 22 states out of 36 that benefited from the grant aimed at improving the infrastructure that is used in the logistics and supply chain management of pharmaceuticals and medical commodities.
He commended UNICEF and Global Fund, the Federal government and other agencies for supporting the upgrade of 22 state warehouses in Nigeria to an international standard as a development that would contribute immensely to the health standard of the nation.
On his part, the Unicef Representative, Akinleye, said the event was aimed at strengthening the state logistic management system as part of the health system in the state and that the project would be delivered within four months.
According to him, “The discussions have been ongoing, and that it is a multi-partner venture, at the apex of it is the Global Fund that has provided the resources to strengthen the countries’ supply chain management system and 22 states were selected out of 36 and Anambra is one of them.
He emphasised that the three states: Anambra, Enugu and Imo in the Enugu Unicef Field Office benefited from the upgrading of the warehouse.
Akinleye however added that the Anambra project will gulp 600 to 700 million.
