Cabinet approves expansion of storage facilities for Medical Supply Division

The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to the proposal to enhance storage facilities for the Medical Supply Division under the Ministry of Health and Mass Media.

The Medical Supply Division is responsible for procuring, storing and distributing medicines, and other medical supplies and pharmaceutical items required for patient treatment to health institutions islandwide. 

The current storage facilities available for the Medical Supply Division are only sufficient for storing medicine stocks for approximately 22 to 30 days from the overall annual medicine consumption.

However, with plans in place to minimize medicine shortages by obtaining supplies for more than six (06) months at the prescribed time and maintaining a buffer stock for three (03) months, a dire necessity has arisen for increasing the storage capacity as appropriate.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the joint proposal submitted by the Minister of Health and Mass Media and the Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development to transfer three (03) warehouse buildings, comprising an area of 30,000 square feet, which were built on a portion of land in Veyangoda owned by the Department of Food Commission, along with the relevant portion of land, including two cold stores, to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media.