Ogun State Drugs and Health Commodities Management Agency (OGDHCMA) under the auspice of Ministry of Health has inaugurated its stakeholders to enhance the management and distribution of medications as well as health commodities within the State.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, made this known during the inauguration at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, saying the initiative was aimed at improving healthcare delivery by ensuring that essential medicines and health supplies were readily available and accessible to residents of the State.
Dr. Coker noted that, the agency was established as part of efforts by the State Government to strengthen the health sector, improve public health outcomes and ensure that healthcare facilities were well equipped to meet the needs of the community.
She added that, the agency was expected to oversee the procurement, storage, distribution of drugs and health commodities, as well as implement policies that would ensure quality and efficiency in the supply chain.
In her speech, the CEO ARC-ESM, one of the development partners, Azuka Okeke, said her organisation’s primary assignment, was to empower government and private corporate sectors in Africa, with diverse innovation and sustainable supply chain solutions that would drive impactful health and socio-economic outcomes.
She explained that, essential medicines programmes with matured supply chain systems, would initiate possible integration of commodity management for all public health programmes such as, HIV, Malaria, among others, which would reduce fragmentation and redundancies.
According to her, embracing the Public Private Partnership Model (PPP), gives access to quality medicines and consumables from Local Manufacturers and Distributors, “Access to affordable pricing, price lock down over a given period and limited fluctuations”.
In her welcome address, Executive Secretary OGDHCMA, Dr. Olufunke Oyeneye, said the primary objectives of OGDHCMA includes, ensuring timely and cost-effective procurement of essential drugs as well as health commodities for public health facilities in the State, stressing that quality control would be their watchword, by maintaining high standard for all drugs and commodities, while ensuring that they meet regulatory requirements for public use.
The stakeholders inaugurated were from Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the government and development partners, while the Chairman is Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Ministry of Health, Pharmacist Olalekan Olarinde.
