By Our Reporter
“I want to assure you that the work you are doing is ordained by God and is a blessing.” That was the message delivered by the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, His Grace Stanley Ntagali, as he officiated at the National Medical Stores (NMS) Prayer Breakfast on Wednesday. The occasion was part of the NMS Silver Jubilee celebrations, and was the culmination of 3-days of the corporation engaging various stakeholders, having started with Women and Youth leaders on Monday, followed by members of the medical fraternity on Tuesday. Religious leaders were the invitees on Wednesday, and the Archbishop was part of the entourage of officials from various faiths who honoured the invitation.
NMS is a statutory body, mandated to procure, store and distribute essential medicines and medical supplies to government health facilities, including those that belong to the Police, Prisons and Military facilities.
A recent innovation had also seen NMS become the first medical logistics body worldwide to integrate the distribution of vaccines with those of ordinary medicines, a milestone for which it received international accolades and also contributed to a dramatic increase in immunisation coverage in Uganda. That, and other achievements, were highlighted by the NMS General Manager/CEO, Moses Kamabare, as he addressed the attendees. He also touched on the various challenges the corporation is facing, stressing on the need for those responsible at health facilities to deliver their procurement plans in a timely manner in order for NMS to quickly process their orders.
Also majorly featured was an update on the ongoing construction of the new NMS Warehouse and Office complex in Kajjansi, slated for completion by mid-2019. “It shall be one of the biggest warehouses of its kind in the world,” Kamabare noted. Its pallet capacity of over 30000 shall surpass NMS’ present storage at least four-fold.
Archbishop Ntagali lauded NMS for its efforts to cater for the health of Ugandans. And he also agreed with Kamabare on the need for Ugandans to take greater responsibility with regard to their health. “God is the healer, but before we need medicine, we need to take care of our bodies. We can prevent disease where possible, so go for regular health checks, because prevention is better than cure.”
He also decried the theft of medicines and essential supplies from government health facilities, and the regular occurrence of having to bribe medical workers to receive treatment in the first place. “It is our collective responsibility to fight corruption and stop this theft,” Ntagali added.
The religious leaders were also given a guided tour of the NMS stores and cold-rooms, as they got further insight into the corporation’s operations.