The Kano State Government says it has put in place measures to stop the diversion of drugs and medical consumables in state-run medical facilities across its 44 local government areas (LGAs).
Gali Sule, Director General of Kano State Drugs and Medical Consumables Supply Agency, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano, the state capital, on Wednesday.
Mr Sule said the action was taken to alert the public about the development.
He said the agency had serious problems with some of its facilities where health workers divert products, particularly medicines and consumables.
He warned the perpetrators, whom he described as “unpatriotic”, to desist from such practices or be prepared to face the consequences.
According to him, unpatriotic workers procure the products at cheaper prices, but instead of allowing patients to buy at affordable prices, they direct them to outside outlets to make profits.
“The affordability we aim to achieve for patients is being sabotaged by some unpatriotic workers in some of our facilities.
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“We have a strong monitoring mechanism and once you are caught, you will face the wrath of the law according to the state civil service law.
“We have strengthened transparency and accountability issues in our drug revolving fund policy, where anyone in charge of drug stores, warehouses or pharmacies must be accountable for the transactions they make each quarter.
“When there is a discrepancy, whoever is in charge, whether it is a merchant or a pharmacist, must be held responsible for the discrepancy and other necessary sanctions must be adopted.
“I can confidently report that we have improved our supply and availability of medicines in our hospitals.
“The agency embarked on a hunt for quality and affordable medicines among other medical consumables being supplied and distributed in government hospitals, thereby ending the menace of spurious and substandard medicines in our public hospitals,” he said.
Mr Sule said 855 primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities have access to the agency's products.
He added that the agency has trained and capitalized 56 additional facilities, bringing the total to 911 that have access to the agency's medicines and supplies.
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“The agency will soon launch its own pharmaceutical-grade warehouse to store various types of medicines at cold and moderate temperatures.
“Standards have been set for the storage of medicines to maintain their quality at all times and storage pads have also been provided in the warehouse.
“One of the advantages that the state will gain from this warehouse is that some commodities coming from the national level to the state must pass through the pharmaceutical grade warehouse in Sokoto, either from Abuja or Lagos.
“Our facilities are not receiving supplies because we do not have a pharmaceutical grade warehouse in Kano and it is a very long protocol.
“When we have our own system, the process will be shortened, reducing the cost of transportation and security risks associated with travelling from Kano through Zamfara and Sokoto states.” (NAN)