The Niger government has received malaria drugs and commodities valued at more than N2.5 billion and inaugurated 1,000 hospital beds to strengthen healthcare delivery and reduce malaria prevalence across the state.
The deputy governor of the state, Mr. Yakubu Garba, disclosed this during the inauguration and distribution of malaria drugs, commodities, hospital beds, and wheelchairs in Minna on Thursday.
He said the state government had consistently paid its counterpart funding obligations, enabling it to attract support from development partners in the fight against malaria.
Garba said the malaria drugs and commodities would benefit about 6.9 million residents and significantly improve access to life-saving treatment across the state.
“The intervention demonstrates the commitment of the Gov. Umaru Bago-led administration to strengthening the healthcare system and ensuring quality medical services for citizens,” he said.
He commended the State Ministry of Health, NSDHCMA, and development partners for ensuring the timely distribution of the commodities to health facilities and beneficiaries.
He disclosed that the state had procured 2,000 hospital beds, adding that 1,000 had already been received.
The deputy governor added that some had been distributed to selected general hospitals, including the General Hospital, Minna.
Earlier, Umar Ndagi, Executive Director of the Niger State Drugs and Hospital Consumable Management Agency, (NSDHCMA) said the agency remained committed to ensuring the availability, accessibility, and affordability of essential medicines, public health commodities, and hospital consumables across the state.
He said the agency had adopted global best practices in warehousing health commodities to guarantee quality storage and efficient distribution.
Ndagi said the agency currently supplies about 90 per cent of the drug and health commodity requirements of the state’s 23 general hospitals, more than 400 primary healthcare facilities, and the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida Specialist Hospital.
According to him, the availability of essential medicines and hospital consumables remained critical to strengthening the health system and achieving universal health coverage.
He appreciated the continued support of the state government and the Ministry of Health, describing it as instrumental to the agency’s achievements.
Also speaking, the representative of development partners, Aminu Gwadabe, commended the Niger government for its sustained commitment to malaria control through timely counterpart funding and strong political support.
He said the collaboration between the government, the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and development partners had resulted in the delivery of millions of insecticide-treated nets, malaria rapid diagnostic test kits, Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) medicines, and seasonal malaria chemoprevention doses.
According to him, the interventions have protected millions of children under five during the rainy season, improved access to free malaria treatment, and contributed to a reduction in malaria prevalence and child mortality.
Gwadabe, however, urged the state government to sustain domestic funding, strengthen primary healthcare infrastructure, and deepen community engagement to preserve the gains recorded in malaria control.
