Karnataka Drug Logistics & Warehousing Society (KDLWS) will commission its 11 warehouses in 14 districts of the State in mid-July 2004. The venture will come under the Reform and Reorganisation of the Drugs Management System in the Union Health and Family Welfare Services.

European Commission has assisted this Logistic and Warehousing Project for the first phase. The European Commission has sanctioned Rs 15 crore for setting up the infrastructure and purchase of equipment. The approval is a first-of-its-kind aid for the Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Services Department.

"The establishment of an efficient, cost effective and de-centralised drug logistics and warehousing system in Karnataka adhering to modern warehousing practices, rigid quality control system, information technology enabled services and a self sustaining financing mechanism would give a fillip to safe storage and speedy supply of drugs to hospitals, stated Jitendra Nayak, additional director, Government Medical Stores and Karnataka Drug Logistics & Warehousing Society.

The first phase of the project, which covered 5 years included construction of 11 drug storage warehouses with storage area ranging from 3,500 to 5,000 sq. ft. in 14 districts, was designed to serve two neighbouring districts apart from computerisation of the drugs procurement and distribution system. The districts are Gulbarga, Bijapur, Shimoga, Mangalore, Mysore, Belgaum, Bellary, Raichur, Dharwad, Davangere, Kolar, Tumkur, Hassan and Bangalore. The warehouses are fully equipped with cold storage, cold chain carrier, storage racks and hydraulic lift. The project also covers human resource development, management, consultancies, and rational drug use apart from supply of vehicles to government medical stores.

Each of the 14 districts is assigned to one of the 14 district medical stores. All the hospitals in the districts can obtain drugs from the designated district medical stores within the entitlements indicated to them.

The civil works of the project were handled by the engineering wing of the Karnataka Health Systems Development Project (KHSDP), which released funds through Letter of Credit (LOC) system. To ensure that the accounts were properly maintained and audited, records were kept at every stage of work undertaken.

The cost of the district medical stores construction is Rs 10.76 crore with an equipment cost of Rs 6 lakh for each district medical store and Rs 1.5 crore as the cost for hardware and software.

The draft feasibility project proposal for strengthening the drug logistic and warehousing system in Karnataka was prepared in February 2001 by UNFPA consultants, appointed by the Government of India. Under the first phase, 11 warehouses were scheduled. For the second phase, a proposal is submitted for setting up another 11 warehouses and for the approval of an additional grant of Rs 15 crore is awaited.