The North East Development Commission has unveiled the first pharma-grade storage in the region in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
The project, which was inspected on Sunday alongside others, is estimated to cost N500 million.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the supervision, the Managing Director of the Commission, Goni Alkali, said the commission is working on an 11-pillar master plan which prioritises health, education, security and others.
He said, “This storage facility is a complex, one of its kind in North East. As you can see, we just upgraded the Central Medical Store in Borno State to pharma-grade and will play a key in helping to ensure the safety of our drugs, vaccines and other medical supplies.”
“We have had an inspection of our ongoing projects here in Maiduguri; what is remaining is handing over. I am very happy that most of the projects have been completed, and a few have almost been completed.”
During his on-the-spot inspection, the MD inspected the commission’s ongoing projects at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric, Eye, and Dental Hospital in Maiduguri, the DSS headquarters, and other project sites in the state capital.
Alkali stated that the NEDC is exploring ways to address poverty, illiteracy, and ecological problems in the region to improve the quality of life for the people of the North-East.
According to him, the projects are to be replicated in each of the North Eastern states of the federation.
The state Commissioner for Health and Human Resources, Baba Gana, appreciated the upgrade of the store facility while ensuring that it would help achieve the state’s goal of improving access to quality health care.
“The upgraded facility features a 24/7 solar power system, CCTV surveillance, and a digital monitoring system for real-time tracking of drug movements.
He said, “This is one of its kind. As I speak with you, other states have come to check this facility and are already going to discourse with their state governors to speed up their own construction, too.
“This upgrade enables us to store any drug, including vaccines, in a secure and temperature-controlled environment.”
“For easy access, as time goes on, we intend to have this kind of structure across all the zones in the state so that the people in that region will not have to be rushing to Maiduguri anytime they need treatment equipment.”
Gana further added that the upgrade of the facility in Maiduguri will be replicated in all the state senatorial districts.
According to him, the upgrade will help reduce drug pilferage and ensure the availability of quality medicines to the people of Borno State.
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