A fire outbreak has destroyed critical medical supplies and equipment at the Ebonyi State Ministry of Health, with losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of naira.
The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Friday, affected the ministry’s cold storage facility located at Block 5, Centenary City in Abakaliki, dealing a significant blow to the state’s immunisation infrastructure.
Speaking during an on-the-spot assessment, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma, expressed concern over the extent of the damage, noting that the facility housed essential immunisation materials and solar-powered systems used to preserve vaccines.
Items lost in the fire include vaccines, vaccine carriers, cold-chain boxes, laptops, official documents, five refrigerators, two solar-powered refrigerators, and 45 solar batteries and inverters. Also destroyed were hospital beds and mattresses supplied by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, which were scheduled for distribution to local government areas under the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Intervention programme.
“Vaccines such as BCG, pentavalent, and HPV, among others, stored in the cold room, were completely destroyed,” Ekuma said.
Despite the scale of the destruction, the commissioner confirmed that no lives were lost. He commended officials of the Ministry of Power and Energy, as well as fire service and security personnel, for their swift response, which helped contain the blaze and prevent further damage.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. However, Ekuma disclosed that the facility had been without public power supply for about five days, while its backup solar system was also non-functional at the time. Efforts to restore electricity were ongoing prior to the incident, with the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company contacted and the solar engineer reportedly out of town.
To address the situation, the commissioner announced the constitution of an investigative committee to determine the cause of the fire and recommend preventive measures. He also directed that alternative office arrangements be made for staff of the affected Immunisation Unit.
The fire has disrupted immunisation operations in the state and damaged part of the ministry’s building, prompting plans for a structural assessment to determine the full extent of the impact.
The incident has further raised concerns about infrastructure resilience and the protection of critical medical supplies essential for effective public health delivery.
