Plateau State Central Medical Store is set to receive a total face-lift among the selected twenty-two (22) State Warehouses in Nigeria from UNICEF ongoing modern upgrade of facilities across the country for the storage of health commodities towards a better health service delivery.
The UNICEF Aid Officer ,Nigeria, Bauchi Field Office, Oluseyi Olasode, disclosed this when the Plateau State Government handed over the facility to them for onward delivery to the contractor to immediately carry out remodelling exercise of this facility within four (4) months.
Speaking to journalists shortly after handing over the facility to the contractor, the Aid Officer, UNICEF Nigeria, said, “Plateau State is one of the five (5) states under Bauchi Field Office, UNICEF Nigeria.
UNICEF in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health with Financial support from Global Funds, is upgrading twenty-two (22) warehouses across the country.
“Out of these states, one is Plateau State and this is why we are here today. We have had the design for the place and have engaged the contractor to upgrade this property to a modern warehouse. We are going to have Code Room, adequate facility that befits a modern warehouse for storage of health commodities.
“Health Commodity is the major when it comes to service delivery and that is why we are here today working with Plateau State Government to make sure that there is adequate health commodities across the country.
” For our Bauchi Field Office, we have done three; Plateau, Adamawa and Gombe States and this is the third one we are doing”, he highlighted.
Olasode, however, disclosed that there were Supervisory Films that would ensure that materials used would be of standard and in compliance to project design and the work was expected to be completed within four (4) months and be delivered where the Executive Governor of Plateau State would commission the project.
On his part, Representative of the Contracting Film, Beacon Creative Ideas Limited, Dubem Okereke, said, “we will deliver before the end of January 2024 and by that period, the facility should be in full operation. For quality, we went through the eye of a needle before we came out successfully for this project. So, the issue of quality is not a problem, but timing.”
Meanwhile, the Plateau State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Cletus Bako Shurkuk, represented by the Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Pharm. Haruna Yaret, thanked God for this great privilege and it was a dream come true.
“So, we are grateful to UNICEF for finding Plateau State worthy among the 22 states to benefit from this exercise. It may interest you to know that this place was built in 1976 and ever since, it has not received any face-lift. I want to appeal to the contractor to work according to the timeline and handover by December 2023”, he appealed.
However, the Executive Secretary, Plateau State Drugs & Medical Commodities Management Agency, Pharm. Fabian Agwo, assured of a secured space at the JIB to keep or house the commodities they were transferring to enable the contractor to carry out his job within the time frame to ensure the integrity of the commodities.
