Imo: UNICEF, Global Fund to Upgrade Medical Warehouses to Meet International Standards

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Global Fund have gone into collaboration to ensure the upgrading of central medical warehouses in Imo State to meet international standards for the provision of quality health needs of the people.

In an official handover ceremony of the facilities in Owerri, by the Imo State government to UNICEF, at the weekend, UNICEF’s Acting Chief of Enugu Field Office, Mr. Olusoji Akinleye, said the event marked a turning point in the provision of quality healthcare facilities to the citizens.
Akinleye, who was represented by a UNICEF Contract Specialist, Mr. Benjamin Makolo, said the project, expected to be completed by December 2023, was aimed at strengthening the state’s logistic management system as part of its health system.

According to him, “this is a multi-partner venture, with the Global Fund taking the lead in providing the resources for the project.”
He added, “It is aimed at strengthening the country’s supply chain management system and 22 states were selected out of 36 of which Imo is one of them.
“The principal recipient for the grant is National Tuberclosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) with the UNICEF taking care of the technical coordination and construction of the warehouses.

“Other collaborating government partners include the National Product Supply Chain Management Program (NPSCMP), National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), and Department of Health Planning, Research and Statistics (DHPRS).”
In his remarks, the UNICEF’s Head of Vaccine Supply Logistics (VSL) in Imo, Mr. Benjamin Nwabuisi, said a bidding process had taken place and vendors selected, with paper work already completed for the commencement of the project.

“The bidding process has been concluded and vendors selected, MoUs have been signed with the states and we’re here today for the sites to be handed over by the state government to the vendors for construction work to commence,” he said.
The Director of Projects, MP Infrastructure, the contractors for the project, Mr. Pius Ike, said it would be a fast-track project, involving various levels of upgrade of existing warehouses.

Speaking, the Imo Commissioner for Health, Dr. Success Prosper-Ohayagha, thanked the UNICEF and its partners for thinking toward the state.

He restated the commitment of the Hope Uzodinma-led government to effective health care reforms and development, adding that the project would receive full support from the state’s Ministry of Health.