At about 9:00 pm on Tuesday, May 30, 2017, fire gutted one of the six warehouses and the Laboratory at the National Drug Service (NDS) situated in the compound of the John F Kennedy Medical Center.

The warehouse affected is used to store essential medical supplies that are used for service delivery while Laboratory is the only testing center used by the Liberia Medicine and Health Product Regulatory Authority (LMHRA) to test the quality of drugs coming into the country.

Immediately when the fire started, the NDS management called in the National Fire Service to contain the situation. Although the Fire Service team immediately intervened, the fire raged all through the night, causing some damages to the operations of NDS.

The Ministry of Health has launched a major investigation to establish the cause of the Fire incident and the outcome will be made public.

The National Drug Service Management team however assures that its distribution of essential medicines to the health facilities across the country will continue.

The Ministry of Health expresses thanks and appreciation to the National Fire Service Agency, Liberia National Police, UNMIL, the John F. Kennedy Medical Center and all other agencies whose timely intervention and support averted further damage to the institution’s operations.