Mr Stephen M. Haykin, Mission Director for United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Monday joined Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole to inaugurate a new state-of-the-art medical storage facility that provides medical authorities better access to life saving medicines and other essential health commodities.
Known as a “warehouse in a box,” the $5.1 million Abuja Premier Medical Warehouse facility was constructed in partnership with Nigeria’s Ministry of Health and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an international health financing organization.
The 3,500 square meter kitted structure was shipped to Nigeria for onsite assembly, and features smooth dust-free floor surfaces, temperature regulating systems, security systems, thermal insulated ceilings, and warehouse handling equipment.
U.S. assistance in the area of medical storage began in 2014, followed by construction of the first “warehouse in a box” facility near Lagos the following year.
“With this new facility, the Ministry of Health will now be able to provide safe storage for more medicines required to meet Nigeria’s annual needs for public health commodities for the foreseeable future,” Mr. Haykin said at the launch. “We are proud to have been a partner in the ‘warehouse in a box’ effort.”
The new Abuja facility provides the necessary storage space for public health commodities at the central level, enabling the Ministry to ensure the provision of quality life-saving health commodities for Nigerians through a central facility.
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through USAID, and the Global Fund, with the Ministry approval provided support for the construction of the warehouses in Abuja and Lagos.
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