United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) have committed a sum of $5 Million for the construction of a pharmaceutical warehouse in Lagos.
According to USAID, the warehouse will provide more storage space for medication and lifesaving public health equipment in Lagos.
USAID’s Country Director Mr Mike Harvey said “Building this warehouse in Lagos aligns with one of the six central technical components of the Federal Government’s ‘Saving One Million Lives Initiative’.
Harvey added that the United States is trying to ensure that expectant mothers access drug at health clinics.
Acting U.S. Consul-General in Nigeria Dehab Ghebreab said the facility would be part of a network of warehouses the U.S. government was supporting through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Lagos.
Ghebreab said “Our investment here will help ensure that Nigeria has the warehouse infrastructure that meets international standard to efficiently store medicines and other pharmaceutical products to provide good health care and save lives.
“As a mother, I understand and appreciate the importance of accessing quality medicine. If my child gets ill at night or in school, I want my child to be seen immediately by a health practitioner or a doctor at a health facility and be given medicine needed to cure him. I am sure every parent wants that.
“I also want to know that my neighbour, who is in labour, gets drugs that prevent post-partum haemorrhage (blood loss after child-bearing); that her newborn baby will be protected from cord infection. Additionally, I want to know that the young family across the street has bed-nets they need to prevent malaria.”