Funding, inadequate infrastructure challenging medical supply in Kano — Agency DG

Kano Director General Drugs and Medical Consumables Supply Agency (DMCSA) has observed that the agency is bedevilled with the challenge of funding and its available infrastructure is inadequate

This is just as the body noted that the agency requires improvement, besides the need for the DMCSA to secure additional recapitalization and improve the capacity of its personnel

Making this known in a statement signed by the Information Officer of the Ministry of Health, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, a copy was made available on Thursday to the press in Kano

The statement added that “there is weak monitoring and supervision across the systems for both Drugs Revolving Fund (DRF) operations in the state and Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KSCHMA), and there is also a frequent stockout of drugs at the facilities, resulting in KSCHMA clients not being able to get what was prescribed for them.

They also observed that some facilities, particularly primary health centres, require immediate capitalization preparation to be enrolled into the programme, and there is a high level of commodity purchase from outside the DMCSA by the facilities

According to the statement, “In its move to strengthen and streamline the DRF operations in the state, the Kano State Government, through the State Sustainable Health Commodities Supply System (SHCSS) Committee, has organised a two-day stakeholders engagement workshop to develop modalities to integrate KSCHMA DRF and Facility DRF. ”

He disclosed that the participants of the workshop were drawn from the Ministry of Health and its Agencies, including the DMCSA

Other participants are the Director General of the Private Health Institutions Management Agency (PHIMA), the Executive Secretary of KSCHMA, the Executive Secretary of the Hospitals Management Board and their relevant directors

The objective of the workshop is to sensitise the participants to the concept of the sustainable health commodities supply system in Kano State.

Also, to leverage DRF for uninterrupted supply of health commodities to KSCHMA clients, to understand the linkage between DRF and other programmes and service units within the facilities, and to understand the benefit of integrating DRF with other programmes such as KSCHMA, NHIS, BHCPF, etc. that also supply drugs.

At the end of the workshop, the participants agreed with the concept of integrating KSCHMA DRF with facility DRF and the development of a strategy for the integration, which will include procurement, warehousing, and internal control.

They also agreed on the involvement of private facilities in the procurement of drugs and medical consumables at the DMCSA, as well as reorienting all relevant stakeholders on the new strategy for integration for smooth implementation for supervisors, managers, and operators at the facility level in phases.

Moreover, they agreed that there should be rewards for the result-oriented staff, while erring personnel should be sanctioned and institutionalised at all levels, in addition to the entrenchment of appropriate linkages between the DMCSA and sister agencies within the health sector.

More so, they agreed on establishing a taskforce that will ensure compliance with the established strategy; enrolment of facilities into the strategy should be in phases, starting with some selected facilities as pilots; very close monitoring and supervision of the pilot facilities should be carried out to determine the success or otherwise of the integration; and at no point should purchases be made outside the DMCSA.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Jet crash: I’m in good spirits — Minister of Power, Adelabu

Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, on Saturday allayed fears about his safety following Friday’s incident near…

Senator Natasha pays condolence visit to family of late Ohinoyi

While addressing sympathisers at the Palace of the late Ohinoyi, in Okene, Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan noted the former was…

Appeal Court sacks Senate Minority Whip, Nwokocha

Nwokocha, Tribune Online learned, represents Abia Central in the red chamber of the National Assembly on the platform of…

Why I was not part of Big Brother All Stars —Tobi Bakre

Former Big Brother Naija star, Tobi Bakre has said he didn’t regret not being part of the Big Brother Naija All Stars edition, noting that his…

What critics of Rufai Oseni don’t know about journalism

A viral, contentious dialogic confrontation between Arise TV’s Rufai Oseni and one Jesutega Onokpasa, identified as a lawyer and “APC chieftain,” on…

FULL LIST: Osimhen, Gift Orban bag nominations at 2023 CAF Awards

Super Eagles and Napoli forward, Victor Osimhen, has been nominated for the 2023 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Men Player of…need