The Federal Government has promised to provide an enabling environment for the Private sector to assist states to upgrade their medical stores to international standards.
The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole made this known while receiving a report of warehouse assessments done by the Warehouse Visibility and Governance Project, WVGP, carried out in conjunction with the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria, PCN.
The assessment exercise done with support from Africa Resource Centre, ARC, involved medical stores in 31 states spread across the country.
Professor Adewole said that states willing to upgrade their medical stores would be linked to donor agencies but they must show commitment to the project.
He said that it is by so doing that wastage, stock out and theft of commodities would be eliminated from the supply chain system in the country.
“When the project unit was established, the idea was to ensure that we upgrade our medical stores to International Standards. Our warehouses in Abuja and Lagos have been upgraded to international standards with support from donor organization.
“The Federal Executive Council recently approve that MDS Logistics should manage the Abuja and Lagos warehouses which have been upgraded to international standards.
“An opportunity has now been provided to states warehouses to be upgraded. I will be willing to facilitate a working relationship between states that are ready and international donors.”
Pharmacist Linus Odoemene, National Coordinator, Nigeria Supply Chain Integration Project, NSCIP, while presenting the report said that most of the states medical stores are below recommended world standards and urged states to show commitment towards improving there medical warehouses.
In the assessment done, Edo State Central Medical Store emerged as the only pharma grade warehouse with an assessment score of 91 percent.
All other 30 states were Non-Pharma grade. Of these 30 state warehouses, 28 were graded between Level 1 and Level 3 while the warehouses in two state warehouses were classified as “Poor System” Warehouses.
Ranking the average assessment scores per geopolitically, the South-South region was ranked 1st with an average assessment score of 75%, followed by the North-west – 65%, South-west – 60%, South-East – 58%, North-Central- 58% and lastly the North-East – 50%.
Domains with lowest assessment score (below 50%) were Vehicles & Equipment – 24% ,organization & management- 36% and transportation 50%.
Domains with the highest assessment score (above 80%) were managing counterfeit products- 80%, documentation -85% and the process of returning products- 85%.