The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Katsina State Government to construct an ultra-modern medical warehouse in the state.
Dr Saudat Bashir, a health specialist with UNICEF, Kano field office disclosed this during the signing of the MoU for the proposed project in Katsina on Tuesday.
She said that the warehouse, which would be provided with the state-of-the-art facilities, would be located at the premises of the state’s central medical store.
According to her, the Katsina state government will provide 15 per cent of the total cost of the project, while UNICEF will provide 85 per cent of the fund.
Bashir said: “The project, which is expected to be completed by Dec. 28, is going to be very beneficial to the people of the state, especially the women and children.
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“We are hoping that if completed, the ultra-modern warehouse will ensure quality assurance of the medicines.”
She added that the giant partners for the project were the Global Fund, alongside UNICEF, among others.
According to Bashir, the idea for the upgrade of the existing warehouse is to make it a modern system, especially in the area of drugs supply and distribution.
“If you look at the nature in which our drugs and medical consumables are being stored, and how they are being distributed to other facilities, accountability is something else.
“When we look at where the drugs are being kept, it’s not a modern way, especially here in the northern part, the weather is bad, and the system of supply chain is not in a proper way.
“We are now into the digitalisation system, and we have seen where a lot of drugs lose their potency where they are not kept well.
“Hence, UNICEF, being the caring of the mothers and children alongside with other partners, sees that it’s necessary to come into the modern system,” she said.
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Bashir added that with the development, there would be accountability in the system of supplying and disbursing drugs and other medical consumables.
She further said that there would also be a quality data process in documentation, adding, “which means there won’t be paper-based documentation again.”
In his response, the state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Bashir Gambo-Saulawa commended the development partners for the gesture.
The commissioner, who spoke through Mr Adamu Suleiman, the Director of Pharmaceutical Services said it was a great success for the state government.
According to him, the project will be of great benefit to the state, especially in the area of medical supply for the teeming population of the state.
Gambo-Saulawa said that the warehouse wod complement the effort of the state government in ensuring that people in the rural areas were provided with quality drugs and track their consumption. (NAN)