The Inauguration of the Northern Regional Pharmaceutical Warehouse: American People Congratulate Mozambican People

U.S. Embassy

Avenida Kenneth Kaunda, 193

Caixa Postal, 783

Maputo

MOZAMBIQUE

PRESS RELEASE

The Inauguration of the Northern Regional Pharmaceutical Warehouse: American People Congratulate Mozambican People

September 17, 2018 – NAMPULA CITY – President Filipe Nyusi and U.S. Ambassador to Mozambique H. Dean Pittman inaugurated yesterday the newly constructed Northern Regional Pharmaceutical Warehouse.  The Northern Regional Pharmaceutical Warehouse, the construction of which was funded through a $7.9 million grant from the United States Government, will prove an integral part of the Mozambican national health supply chain.  This new warehouse will increase by 20% storage capacity at the central/regional level.  The warehouse will improve the management of medicine stockpiles, and safeguard the investments made through the Ministry of Health’s Pharmaceutical Logistics Strategic Plan (PELF – Plano Estratégico Logística Farmacêutica).

Access to drugs and medical products is one of the most important and most affected areas within the reform and decentralization agenda of the Ministry of Health.  One of the main challenges faced by the National Health System has been ensuring that vital, essential medicines and medical products are always available at health facilities to meet patient’s needs.

During the event, Ambassador Pittman said the U.S. Government would continue to support the national health supply chain, and called for broader collaboration between the public and private sectors:  “The people of the United States will continue to support the people of Mozambique as we together create a stronger health system.  In the end, however, the health of Mozambique lies in the hands of Mozambicans.  So we urge the Government of the Republic of Mozambique to continue making health systems, and specifically the supply chain, a priority.  A strong supply chain serves as the foundation upon which other health activities can thrive. We trust that, under the guidance of Central de Medicamentos e Artigos Medicos (CMAM) and the Ministry of Health, this National Regional Pharmaceutical Warehouse will bring a healthier more prosperous future for the people of this great nation.”

The U.S. Mission to Mozambique is expanding the range of those who benefit from socioeconomic development, accelerating broad-based growth and resilience, and targeting health services to high-disease burden geographic areas and under-served populations in rural areas of Mozambique.  In close coordination with its counterparts in the Government of the Republic of Mozambique, the U.S. Government continues to strengthen Mozambique’s logistics and supply chain functions, including key infrastructure development such as warehousing.

With the Ministry of Health of Mozambique and CMAM, the United States Government supports the entire medical supply chain process.  This includes warehousing, transportation, distribution, monitoring and evaluation, information systems, forecasting, and supply planning.  The U.S. Government also supports the procurement of medical supplies for HIV, malaria, nutrition, maternal and child health, as well as laboratory commodities.

For more information about this press release, please contact the U.S. Embassy Maputo Press Office at MaputoPress@state.gov.

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