By: Mukhtar Yahaya Shehu
In the quest for improved public health outcomes and sustainable development, the Kano State Drugs and Medical Consumables Supply Agency has organized a two-day training to local government Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Coordinators and Essential Drug Officers ion the management of family planning commodities and delivery to the last mile.
Organized in collaboration with the Gates Foundation-funded Capacity for Sustainable Development (C4SD), the training aimed to enhance participants’ professional capacities by equipping them with proper knowledge, with a view to offer consistent and high-quality services to individuals seeking family planning options.
Declaring the workshop open, Pharm. Aminu Bashir, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, who represented the Commissioner Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf at the function, spoke extensively on the importance of the integration of family planning commodities and last-mile delivery, noting that it is cost-effective, time-saving, and accountable.
In a statement signed by information officer DMSCA Faruk Isa Musa the commissioner further highlighted that the effective management of family planning commodities and their delivery to the last mile is essential for promoting reproductive health and ensuring that individuals have access to necessary services.
On the significance of training, the Permanent Secretary said, “Orientation and training programs play a pivotal role in achieving the set objectives by equipping the participants with the necessary skills and knowledge needed for effective management and delivery.
“It becomes imperative to organize such trainings. Through these efforts, we can pave the way for a future where family planning services are accessible to all, ultimately contributing to healthier families and communities,” he observed.
In his welcome address, Pharm Gali Sule said the program is designed to integrate the supply chain management of family health care commodities and essential medicine up to the last-mile delivery.
The integration, according to him, is a proposed national policy and will immensely contribute to improving health care service delivery in the country as a whole, adding that under this program, DMCSA will deliver the commodities to health facilities free of charge.
He reasserted the agency’s resolve to continue collaboration with non-governmental organizations to expand outreach.
During the first day session, facilitators who made presentations include Pharm. Tukur Ibrahim, who made a presentation on the Concept of Health Commodities Supply System; Pharm. Abdullahi Abubakar Danzabuwa on the Concept of Integration and Last Mile Delivery; and, lastly, Bello Muhammad Dandago, who made his presentation on Supply Chain Management and Inventory Control of Contraceptive Commodities.
