Kano state government says it will revamp Drugs Manufacturing Unit (DMU) of the Kano State Drugs and Medical Consumables Supply Agency’s (DMCSA).
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf made the disclosure in the weekend while inaugurating the Drug Manufacturing Unit Committee and the Committee for the Integration of the KSCHMA DRF and the Facility DRF, at the DMCSA premises.
The Commissioner, according to statement by spokesman of the ministry, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said that the DMU is very important unit that produces locally made drugs and, that was why the present administration is going to ensure that the unit keeps producing medicines that are qualitative.
Dr. Labaran said that the aim is to protect the teeming populace of the state from consuming substandard and counterfeit drugs that are widely in circulation, maintaining that by upgrading the DMU, the state would have more lines of drug production and the unit would become capable of producing the needed essential drugs for the state.
The Commissioner assured that, by so doing, the government owned facilities and interested private facilities would patronize drugs from the DMCSA because of its quality and affordability.
On harmonizing KSCHMA DRF with Facility DRF, Dr. Labaran noted that the integration is important because it would provide better insight of what is happening in the facilities regarding the KSCHMA DRF.
He stressed that the integration would allow for improved availability of qualitative and affordable drugs to KSCHMA clients.
Dr. Labaran maintained that the move is to reverse the case of inadequate availability of quality medicines by making sure that relevant drugs are readily available for the KSCHMA clients in the health facilities at all the times.
He then charged members of the committees to accord uppermost importance to the assignment they are entrusted with, because it is going to impact positively unto the lives of the people of the state.
Earlier speaking, the Director General of the DMCSA, Pharm. Gali Sule emphasized that supplying drugs is part of the mandates of his Agency, asserting that the DMU has been manufacturing drugs for over 30 years.
He pointed out that the operations of the DMU need to be reviewed in order to conform with all the regulatory requirements of both Pharmacy Council of Nigeria and NAFDAC.
The DG said that the committee consists of stakeholders from various sectors, and government is confident that its members will come up with a proposal and reports that would aid upgrading the unit to the standard of operations laid down by all the regulatory agencies.
The chairmen of the committees, Prof. Bashir A. Chedi and Pharm. Abdullahi Abubakar Danzabuwa, on behalf of other members, assured of their readiness and commitment to work diligently in order to justify the confidence reposed on them and submit the interim reports on the stipulated time.
