Umar Idris Shuaibu, Kano
To promote transparency and efficiency in service delivery especially in the health sector, Kano State Government had organized a 4-day workshop on the procurement of health commodities for staff selected from the Ministry of Health, the Drugs and Medical Consumables Supply Agency (DMCSA) and other relevant ministries and agencies.
Speaking during the commencement of the program, the Chairman of the meeting and Director General of DMCSA, Pharm. Gali Sule said the workshop was organized by the state government in collaboration with Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) and it seeks to specifically support the Procurement Unit of DMCSA with an Agency-specific operational document to carry out its mandate in line with the organization’s overall business objectives.
“I’m indeed delighted to be part of this activity, which, partly, is a continuation of a meeting that took place some months back, where CIPS showcased a diagnostic analysis of our procurement at the Agency.
“This workshop, however, will look at the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of procuments, especially the tendering process and emergency procuments,” he explained, adding that “According to operation guidelines of DMCSA, the tendering process is supposed to cater for 80 percent of all the procuments, while the other 20 percent will cover for the emergency procuments.”
The DG further highlighted that the tendering process is the standard global practice of procuments, and his agency has wholeheartedly embraced the practice due to the fact that it’s the most transparent method of procuments.
“Through that method, the Agency will be able to achieve its mandates of sourcing, storing, and supplying healthcare facilities across the state with quality, affordable, accessible and available drugs and other medical consumables,” he stressed.
On his part, Mr. Chukwudi Uche, the CIPS’ Team Lead, said the broad objective of the workshop is to review and build consensus on the draft Procument Policy, Strategy, and Standard Operating Procedures.
The Team Lead and other resource persons from CIPS, namely Pharm. Julius Oni and Pharm. Pamela Muonemeh made presentations on the procument policy and strategy; organizational and supply market planning; tendering and contracting; and contract management.
Delivering closing remarks, Pharm. Kamilu Mudi Salisu, Director Pharmaceutical Services, state Ministry of Health, who represented the Chairman of the workshop, commended the resource persons for resilience, perseverance, and for what he termed as “world-class presentations”.
He also thanked all the participants for cooperation and their individual contributions, which, according to him, made all the sessions very interactive and the program a success.
In addition to the Ministry of Health and the DMCSA, other participants were drawn from the Ministry for Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation, Hospital Management Board (HMB), State Primary Health Care Management Board (SPHCMB), Private Health Institutions Management Agency (PHIMA), among others.
The workshop was held at Tahir Guest Palace in Kano, from Tuesday, 20th to Friday, 23rd August 2024.
Signed:
Farouk I. Musa
PRO, DMCSA