THE completed refurbishment and extension work at the National Medical Stores was officially launched yesterday with a handing over and plaque unveiling ceremony at the newly refurbished office at Ranadi in East Honiara.
The National Medical Stores Refurbishment and Extension Works, which comprises of a new administration office, storage extension; and general refurbishment works, is funded by the World Bank. The construction and renovation work, worth SBD 6.9 million dollars, and carried out over a period of 6 months, and was delivered by the Contractor JED Enterprise. Providing oversight and management to the implementation of the Project was provide by the Project Management Unit (PMU) within the Ministry of Health and Medical Services.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Paul Popora Bosawai emphasised the importance of the project and thanked the World Bank for their support.
“Having a storage facility that is maintained to standard with adequate storage space for normal times and during emergencies, a well-functioning cooling system and proper office complex for staff are all critically important to the overall health service that we provide for our people.
“It is for this reason that we are here today to mark the completion of work on the improvement and expansion of our National Medical Store. I thank the Word Bank for recognizing this need and the support provided since the start of the Project up until today.
This project is part and parcel of our overall efforts to implement the National Health Strategic Plan 2022 -2031. It will directly contribute towards strategic objective #2 that health systems and resources meet our needs and are responsibly managed. Health systems under this objective also refers to facilities that they remain adequate and up to standard to carry out their functions. This will be the case for our Medical Store now and going forward,” said Minister Dr Bosawai.
Speaking at the event, World Bank Country Director for Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, Mr. Stephen Ndegwa said the World Bank is very proud to partner with the Government of Solomon Islands through the Ministry of Health and Medical Services to support the strengthening of health systems in Solomon Islands.
“While the project commenced as an emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic, it moved into a health-systems strengthening project, of which medical storage services and infrastructure are a key part in strengthening the broader health infrastructure in the country.
“The World Bank remains committed and is keen to further support health systems strengthening in Solomon Islands to respond to key challenges including non-communicable diseases and beyond NCDs, as we have done in other pacific countries”, Mr Ndegwa said.
He said the Bank looks forward to the successful completion of all remaining project activities by the end of this year and encouraged the Government to take the opportunity of further support from the World Bank and other development partners to expand, modernize and strengthen the country’s health systems and infrastructure so as to contribute to a healthy and productive population.
Remaining infrastructure investments which the project funds include installation of incinerators and renovation of isolation units at some three provincial hospitals.
Also speaking at the event, before officially handing over the key to World Bank and then onto the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Managing Director of JED Enterprise Mr David Leong described the launch of the refurbished health infrastructure as a celebration of the spirit of service and care.
“When we embarked on this journey together, we envisioned creating more than just a building, we aimed to establish a hub of healthcare support as well as our contribution to the improvement of health systems in the health sector of the country Today as we gather to mark the completion of the project, we not only celebrate the physical structure but we also celebrate the spirit of service and the health care service it represents.
“Throughout the course of construction, we have faced challenges and triumphs but through it all or team has remained steadfast in our pursuit of delivering a facility that meets the highest standards,” said Mr Leong.
