President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the Lagos Cold and Dry Storage Hub, a modern vaccine storage and distribution facility designed to serve about 90.7 million Nigerians by 2035 and beyond.
The Lagos Vaccine Hub, funded through a World Bank International Development Association (IDA) credit under the IMPACT Project, will cater to the South-West and South-South geopolitical zones.
The catchment area covers Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.
Tinubu was represented at the inauguration by the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Muyi Aina.
Aina said the unveiling of the facility demonstrated the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening primary healthcare, bridging infrastructure gaps and ensuring access to quality health services across the country.
“For many years, Nigeria’s vaccine supply chain depended on one National Strategic Cold Store and six zonal stores — a structure that could no longer adequately serve our growing population and expanding immunisation needs,” he said.
He explained that the Federal Government, through the NPHCDA, developed the Three-Hub National Immunisation Supply Chain Model, comprising modern mega storage facilities in Lagos, Abuja and Kano, to decentralise vaccine storage and strengthen nationwide distribution.
“Today, the Lagos Hub proudly becomes the first to be commissioned,” he added.
Aina described the project as a product of strong collaboration between government and development partners, noting that Gavi, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation provided technical expertise and global partnership support.
He said the Abuja Hub, which will serve the North-Central and South-East zones, is under construction, while the Kano Hub for the North-West and North-East zones is expected to commence later this year.
According to him, the three hubs will provide Nigeria with a modern vaccine distribution network capable of ensuring that every child, regardless of location, has access to safe and potent vaccines.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Ibrahim Mustafa, described the hub as a major investment in Nigeria’s immunisation programme and vaccine security.
He said the facility would strengthen routine immunisation, improve outbreak response and enhance the resilience of the country’s public health system.
“The impact of this facility will be felt particularly among children and vulnerable populations who depend on safe and potent vaccines for protection against vaccine-preventable diseases,” he said.
Mustafa noted that Lagos currently has the highest number of zero-dose children in the country and called for stronger collaboration with the NPHCDA to reduce the figure.
The Gavi representative, Dr Maureen Ugochukwu, commended the NPHCDA for the achievement, stressing the need to ensure consistent availability of quality vaccines at all service delivery points nationwide.
Similarly, UNICEF Vaccine Cold Chain Logistics Consultant, Emediong Ekere, said the hub would optimise cold chain storage for vaccines and other medical commodities while improving the efficiency of immunisation material distribution nationwide.
“We strongly believe this development will improve cold chain storage solutions for vaccines and dry commodities, with a positive impact across health centres, LGA cold stores and health facilities providing immunisation services,” he said.
National Programme Manager of the IMPACT Project, Dr Amina Abdul-One Mohammed, said the hub would guarantee faster access to life-saving vaccines, reduce stockouts and strengthen outbreak response capacity.
She explained that the facility comprises two major structures — a cold store with six WHO/PQS-compliant temperature-controlled rooms and a dry store with 15,312 cubic metres of storage capacity spread across 2,552 square metres of floor space.
According to her, the cold store includes three walk-in cold rooms operating between 2°C and 8°C, two switchable cold/freezer rooms and one permanent walk-in freezer room operating between -15°C and -25°C.
She added that the dry store is equipped with 125 racking units, 484 HDPE pallets, electric forklifts, reach trucks and four hydraulic dock levellers for thermally controlled loading and unloading operations.
Mohammed said the facility is primarily powered by a natural gas generator to reduce emissions and long-term fuel costs, while a diesel generator provides backup power to ensure uninterrupted cold chain operations.
