Health commodities, accurate data critical components in health system – Minister

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has described essential health commodities and accurate data as the critical components that make healthcare system work in any society.
The Minister said without these commodities, no matter the number of human resources available, the health system would not function effectively.
Adewole stated this while declaring open a retreat on National Productivity Supply Chain Management/Nigeria Supply Chain Integration Project in Abuja on Tuesday.
Adewole said: “There are two critical elements in the Health system, the building does not make the health system, the human resources inside does not make the health system, but two things make it a health system: the commodities and the data.”
He explained that the essence of the retreat was to harmonize procurement and distribution of drugs on HIV/AID, malaria, TB and other reproductive health challenges between the Federal Ministry Health, Donor Agencies and Development Partners.
He added: “We need to fashion out innovative approaches that will prevent our perennial challenges of commodity wastages, expiries and stock outs as well as poor delivery system to end users of such commodities.”
According to the minister, Supply Chain Management was an essential component of the healthcare delivery system that deal with quality medicines and other health products at the health facilities at all times and in the right amount.
It manages all the activities involved in the process of sourcing raw materials, manufacturing, testing, warehousing and transportation until they reach the final users.
Adewole added that NSCIP was initiated by the Government of Nigeria and a consortium of international donors and partners, which includes Global Fund, USAID, GAVI, UNFPA, and BMGF, to bridge the gaps and maintain uninterrupted supply system in the country.
He further informed that presently, the programme had covered the following states: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River, FCT, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Nasarawa, Oyo, Rivers, and Sokoto – and the success story of the project motivated the funders to give approval for scaling to the remaining 23 states of the Federation.
Adewole stressed that the overall goal was to improve harmonization of resources (human and financial) for better efficiency in procurement and supply management of medicines and other health products through an integrated supply-chain management system.
In his remarks, the National Coordinator National Supply Chain Management Project/Nigeria Supply Chain Integration Project, Pharmacist Linus Odeomene Chukwuemeka, said the event was to bring National Stakeholders, Commissioners of Health from the 36 states of the Federation and FCT to come and share Ideas on how to strengthen the supply management of drugs in their states to enable patients get their drugs at the appropriate time and in good quality, irrespective of the area.
Chukwuemeka said the programme “Integration” brings all stakeholders and donor agencies together to coordinate the procurement and distribution of medicines to all the states and local governments.
This, according to him, would reduce wastage and duplication of duties.