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The Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) today officially launched the National Drug Store Renovation and Office Expansion Project in Honiara.
The project is being funded by the World Bank through its COVID-19 Emergency Response Project to ensure the facility remains adequate and up to standard.
Speaking at the launch, Minister of Health and Medical Services Paul Bosavai said the improvement of drug stores was crucial for the efficient delivery of health services across the country.
The Minister of Health and Medical Services, His Excellency Dr. Paul Bosavai.
“Having a standard storage facility with adequate storage space for both normal and emergency situations, a well-functioning cooling system and a suitable office building are all vital to the overall health services we provide to the people of Solomon Islands,” he said.
The project comes at a time when the impact of COVID-19 is challenging the country’s health system, including affecting the stocking of medicines and medical supplies in medical stores.
Wesley Kukutu, manager of the National Medical Store, explained that pressure on their storage system ultimately increased during the pandemic.
“The building was completed in 1996. The technical advice given at the time was that the warehouse would provide medical supplies for the population of Solomon Islands for 15 years, as the population was just over 300,000 at the time. Now our population is over 700,000, so we are currently 13 years beyond that living space.”
“Stock pressure has been building up gradually, and this pressure was largely reflected in the huge donations from all our development partners during the pandemic. At that time, the pharmacy was not able to adopt good storage methods, which meant that it could not properly control its inventory and the quality of medicines was at risk,” he said.
Visit the interior of the National Medical Store.
Minister Bosawayi said the situation eventually sparked dialogue through the joint efforts of the Ministries of Health, Finance and the World Bank.
Subsequently, the World Bank provided $13 million in funding for emergency COVID-19 response projects through the COVID-19 Rapid Response Program.
The renovation and improvement of the National Medical Store cost SUD 6.9 million and is part of the health systems component of the project.
Dr Bosavayi said it was a major investment which was greatly appreciated by the government.
“So while the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged health systems, it has also provided a silver lining to strengthen and improve our health systems and health services.”
The entire renovation process, from procurement to on-site processing, took a year to complete.
Part of the expansion of the National Medical Stockpile Facility.
Dr Bosavai said the completion of the project would solve some of the problems faced by the National Medical Store since its inception, including cooling systems, office space constraints and the need for major renovations.
Meanwhile, World Bank Country Director for Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Stephen Ndegwa encouraged the government and stakeholders to continue supporting the country’s health infrastructure.
“We are very pleased that this project, although initially an emergency COVID-19 response project, has evolved into a system strengthening project, with the health services infrastructure being a key part of strengthening the country’s broader health infrastructure,” Ndegwa said.
He also expressed gratitude to the International Development Association (IDA) for its financial support for this assistance, which is a key component of the multifaceted global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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