The Executive Secretary of the Yobe State Drugs and Medical Consumables Management Agency (YODMA), Pharm. Abdul-Aziz Garba Mohammed, has attributed the agency’s rapid progress in expanding health facility coverage across the state to the sustained support of Governor Mai Mala Buni, noting that coverage rose from 34 percent in 2021 to 74 percent in the third quarter of 2025.
Presenting the agency’s performance update, Pharm. Mohammed said YODMA, which began full operations in 2021 following its establishment by Governor Buni in 2020, has now reached at least one health facility in each of the state’s 178 political wards. He described the milestone as a reflection of the governor’s resolve to ensure that every community in Yobe has access to essential drugs and medical consumables.
He explained that the agency’s progress was made possible through deliberate measures, including the upgrade of the Central Medical Store (CMS) in Damaturu and the establishment of three new zonal warehouses, one in each senatorial district to strengthen storage and distribution efficiency.
Pharm. Mohammed further revealed that YODMA increased its commodity availability and stock management performance from 20 percent in 2021 to 79 percent in 2025, while the stockout rate dropped sharply from 23.5 percent to 8.5 percent.
“On public health supply systems, our focus has been to improve the availability of maternal, neonatal, and malaria commodities. When we started in 2021, availability stood at just 20 percent, but as of the third quarter of this year, it has risen to 79 percent and we are targeting 95 percent, Insha Allah,” he said.
He noted that the achievements, backed by the governor’s policy direction and funding support, is one of the indicators that earned Yobe State the Leadership Challenge Award for 2024, adding that YODMA remained committed to ensuring that no patient leaves a facility without receiving the full complement of prescribed medicines.
Pharm. Mohammed also highlighted significant improvements in YODMA’s supply chain efficiency, explaining that the time required for health facilities to process requisitions has reduced from about a week in 2021 to less than two hours today.
