$161 Million MMU annex commissioned

DPI, Guyana, Friday, June 21, 2019

A new multimillion-dollar annex of the Materials Management Unit (MMU) was this afternoon commissioned by Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence.

The $161 Million extension to the Diamond warehouse was funded by the Government of Guyana, and according to Minister Lawrence, is an expression of her Ministry’s commitment to achieving the MMU’s mission.

“The commissioning of this bond is a robust confirmation of the government’s commitment to providing access to safe, effective and quality essential medicines,”.

The additional floor area of 428.5 square metres will provide 284 more pallet locations for bulk storage of pharmaceuticals and health products. The new extension comes with a new mini-lab that will support level one inspections of pharmaceuticals received at the MMU with semi-quantitative and qualitative testing for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API).

Minister Lawrence said the government had been spending large sums of money for the rental of storage space. The investment in its own storage bond is, therefore, most fitting.

“We recognised that there was an urgent need for us to make an investment because we would continue to be supplying drugs and medical supplies, so why not invest in a building so that we can provide these services,” she said at a small commissioning ceremony.

The Minister said the Public Health Ministry has the mandate to realise the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number three, which addresses taking care of the wellbeing of citizens and bridging the gap of limited storage capacity.

The Public Health Minister said the warehouse, with its extension, can house an increase in drugs and medical supplies. Further, the Ministry will also be able to reduce the number of offsite locations for the storage of supplies.

The extension will also help the Ministry to better manage the items within its purview. Over the years, the ministry has also been expanding its medical services across Guyana. Minister Lawrence said with that expansion, comes the demand for more medical supplies.

“At every regional hospital, we are able to have specialised services and so as we increase on the specialised services, it means we have to have additional supplies of medicines to fulfil the services on those regional hospitals. The MMU, she noted has been fulfilling that demand.

The Public Health Minister hopes too that regional administrations will use the extension as an example to build their own storage bonds

The MMU provides medical supplies to more than 372 health facilities across the ten administrative regions across Guyana.

Images: Marceano Narine

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