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| Correct storage protects medicines, vaccines and other health commodities from damage, expiry and loss. |
Health commodities must be stored correctly to preserve their quality, safety and effectiveness until they are used. Medicines, vaccines, diagnostic test kits, laboratory reagents, contraceptives, condoms and other medical supplies can become damaged when exposed to excessive heat, moisture, direct sunlight, contamination or poor handling. Improper storage can also lead to theft, stock discrepancies, expired products and avoidable stock-outs.
Good storage practices therefore protect both the health facility’s investment and the patients who depend on these products.
What Are Health Commodities?
Health commodities are products used to prevent, diagnose, monitor or treat diseases and other health conditions.
They include:
Medicines
Vaccines
Diagnostic test kits
Laboratory reagents
Contraceptives and condoms
Medical consumables
Personal protective equipment
Syringes and needles
Surgical supplies
Blood-safety products
HIV, tuberculosis and malaria commodities
Maternal and child-health supplies
Different commodities have different storage requirements. Staff should always follow the conditions stated on the product label, manufacturer’s instructions and applicable national guidelines.
Why Proper Storage Matters
Poor storage may cause health products to:
Lose their strength or effectiveness
Become contaminated
Deteriorate before their expiry dates
Produce unreliable test results
Become unsafe for patients
Develop damaged or unreadable packaging
Be stolen or misappropriated
Expire before they are used
Become difficult to trace during a recall
Create unnecessary financial losses
The World Health Organization explains that medical products may face quality risks during storage, transportation, repackaging and distribution. Storage systems should therefore maintain appropriate conditions and preserve the identity, quality and integrity of products throughout the supply chain.
Guidelines for Proper Storage of Health Commodities
1. Keep the storeroom clean
Clean the storeroom according to a documented schedule.
Floors, shelves, pallets, windows and storage equipment should be kept free from:
Dust
Dirt
Food waste
Cobwebs
Spilled products
Broken packaging
Rodents and insects
Cleaning materials should not be stored directly beside medicines or other health commodities.
The storeroom should also have an established pest-control system. Pest-control chemicals must be handled carefully to prevent contamination of health products.
Food, drinks and smoking should not be permitted inside the storage area.
2. Store every product at its prescribed temperature
Check each product’s label and manufacturer’s instructions before deciding where it should be stored.
Products should not automatically be placed in a refrigerator simply because they are medicines. Some products may become damaged if they are frozen, while others deteriorate when exposed to excessive heat.
Temperature-sensitive products should be handled as a priority and maintained within their approved storage ranges.
The storeroom should have suitable temperature-monitoring equipment, such as:
A calibrated thermometer
A digital temperature data logger
A minimum-and-maximum thermometer
A temperature-monitoring chart
Temperatures should be checked and recorded at defined intervals. Any reading outside the approved range should be investigated and documented.
3. Maintain the cold chain
Vaccines and certain medicines, laboratory reagents and diagnostic products require an uninterrupted temperature-controlled system known as the cold chain.
Cold-chain products should be:
Stored in approved refrigerators, cold rooms or freezers
Kept within the temperature range specified by the manufacturer
Monitored using appropriate temperature devices
Protected from accidental freezing where freezing could damage them
Transported in suitable cold boxes or vaccine carriers
Connected to a reliable electricity source
Supported by a backup power arrangement where possible
Staff should have a contingency plan for power failure, refrigerator breakdown or temperature excursions.
The cold chain is particularly important for vaccination programmes. AnjKreb’s guide on yellow fever explains why maintaining access to effective vaccines remains central to controlling vaccine-preventable diseases.
4. Keep the storeroom dry, well lit and well ventilated
The storage area should be dry and adequately ventilated.
It should have enough lighting for staff to:
Read labels correctly
Check batch numbers
Identify expiry dates
Count stock accurately
Notice leaks or damaged packages
Pick the correct products
However, products should be protected from direct sunlight because ultraviolet light and heat can damage medicines, packaging and diagnostic commodities.
Windows exposed to strong sunlight may require curtains, blinds, shades or protective coverings.
5. Protect the storeroom from water
The roof, walls, windows, doors, floor and drainage system should protect products from:
Rainwater
Flooding
Leaking pipes
Roof damage
Groundwater
Excessive humidity
Products should never be placed directly on the floor.
Water-damaged commodities should be separated immediately and assessed before any decision is made to use or dispose of them.
6. Monitor humidity where necessary
Excessive humidity can damage tablets, capsules, paper packaging, labels, test strips and other moisture-sensitive products.
Where humidity is a recognised risk, facilities should:
Use suitable humidity-monitoring devices
Ensure adequate ventilation
Repair leaks promptly
Keep products in their original packaging
Use air-conditioning or dehumidification where required
Keep containers properly closed
WHO guidance states that required temperature and relative-humidity conditions should be controlled, monitored and recorded where applicable.
7. Arrange cartons correctly
Cartons should be stored:
At least 10 centimetres off the floor
Approximately 30 centimetres away from walls and other stacks
At a safe distance below the ceiling
On stable pallets or shelving
At a height that does not create a risk of collapse
The traditional maximum stacking height of about 2.5 metres may be used only when the cartons, shelving, pallets, warehouse structure and handling equipment can safely support it.
Heavy cartons should generally be placed below lighter cartons.
Do not climb on cartons or use medicine cartons as makeshift ladders.
8. Ensure carton arrows point upward
Where packaging contains directional arrows, cartons should be arranged so that the arrows point upward.
Product information should face outward whenever possible, including:
Product name
Strength or formulation
Batch or lot number
Manufacturing date
Expiry date
Storage instructions
Labels must remain visible and readable without repeatedly moving the cartons.
9. Use FEFO for stock rotation
Health commodities should generally be issued according to First Expiry, First Out, commonly called FEFO.
This means that products with the earliest valid expiry date are issued before products that expire later.
Newly received stock should not simply be placed in front of older stock. Staff should compare expiry dates and arrange the products accordingly.
Where two batches have the same expiry date, the product received first may be issued first.
Effective FEFO implementation reduces wastage and makes it easier to identify commodities approaching expiry. Warehousing guidance for health commodities emphasises organised inventory systems and efficient product movement.
10. Conduct regular expiry-date reviews
Expiry dates should be checked routinely rather than only during annual stocktaking.
Facilities may classify products according to the time remaining before expiry, for example:
Less than three months
Three to six months
Six to twelve months
More than twelve months
Products approaching expiry should be reported early so they can be:
Prioritised for appropriate use
Redistributed to facilities with higher consumption
Returned where an approved return system exists
Managed according to national procedures
Expired products must never be issued to patients.
11. Maintain accurate inventory records
Every receipt, issue, transfer, loss, adjustment and disposal should be recorded promptly.
Depending on the facility, inventory records may include:
Stock cards
Bin cards
Requisition and issue vouchers
Goods-received notes
Electronic logistics-management systems
Temperature records
Expiry-tracking tools
Disposal records
The physical stock should regularly be compared with the recorded balance.
Any discrepancy should be investigated rather than corrected without explanation.
12. Store similar products together
Products should be arranged according to an organised system that staff can understand and maintain.
Possible arrangements include:
Product category
Programme area
Dosage form
Alphabetical order
Storage requirement
Frequency of use
Similar-looking or similar-sounding medicines should be separated or clearly labelled to reduce selection errors.
Different strengths of the same medicine should also be arranged carefully.
13. Separate medical commodities from non-medical materials
Medicines and health supplies should not be stored together with:
Insecticides
Cleaning chemicals
Fuel
Paint
Office supplies
Food
Personal belongings
Old files
Broken equipment
Waste materials
Chemicals and insecticides can contaminate medicines or create fire and health hazards.
The storage area should be reserved primarily for authorised health commodities and related logistics equipment.
14. Store flammable products separately
Flammable products such as alcohol-based preparations and certain laboratory chemicals require appropriate safety controls.
They should be:
Stored in a designated area or approved safety cabinet
Kept away from ignition sources
Clearly labelled
Stored according to quantity and hazard requirements
Managed using applicable fire and chemical-safety procedures
The facility should maintain suitable safety information and emergency procedures for hazardous products.
15. Store controlled medicines securely
Narcotics, psychotropic medicines and other legally controlled products should be kept in a locked and restricted area.
Access should be limited to authorised personnel.
Facilities should maintain:
Controlled-drug registers
Receipt and issue documentation
Running balances
Physical stock counts
Records of authorised access
Reports of losses or discrepancies
The specific requirements should follow Nigerian law and applicable institutional policies.
16. Protect condoms and other latex products
Condoms and other latex products should be kept away from:
Excessive heat
Direct sunlight
Moisture
Oils and chemicals
Electric motors
Fluorescent lights and other possible sources of ozone
Sharp objects that could damage the packaging
Cartons should not be compressed or stacked in a manner that damages the individual packs.
Staff should check packaging integrity and expiry dates before distribution.
17. Provide appropriate fire-safety equipment
Fire-safety equipment should be:
Appropriate for the type of materials stored
Clearly marked
Easily accessible
Routinely inspected
Maintained in working condition
Emergency exits should remain unobstructed.
Personnel should be trained to:
Raise an alarm
Evacuate safely
Use available fire extinguishers where appropriate
Contact emergency services
Report and document incidents
Fire extinguishers should never be hidden behind cartons or locked inside inaccessible rooms.
18. Control access to the storeroom
Only authorised personnel should enter the storage area.
Security measures may include:
Strong doors and locks
Controlled key management
Visitor registers
Security lighting
Window protection
Alarm systems
Surveillance systems where appropriate
Staff should lock the storeroom whenever no authorised person is present.
High-value, controlled and easily diverted products may require additional security.
19. Create separate quarantine areas
Products should be separated from usable stock when they are:
Damaged
Expired
Recalled
Returned
Suspected to be falsified
Exposed to inappropriate temperatures
Awaiting quality assessment
Awaiting disposal
These products should be clearly marked with labels such as:
Quarantined
Not for use
Expired
Damaged
Awaiting inspection
They should not be returned to usable stock unless an authorised decision confirms that they remain suitable.
20. Remove damaged and expired products promptly
Expired, damaged or unusable health commodities should be removed from active inventory without unnecessary delay.
They must be:
Counted
Documented
Separated
Secured
Reported
Disposed of through an approved process
Medicines should not be burned, buried, poured into drains or placed in ordinary waste unless the approved disposal procedure specifically permits it.
Disposal should comply with environmental, pharmaceutical and public-health regulations.
21. Inspect products when they arrive
Before accepting a delivery, staff should check:
Product name
Quantity
Strength
Dosage form
Batch or lot number
Expiry date
Packaging condition
Storage requirements
Delivery documentation
Temperature-monitoring evidence for cold-chain products
Products should be rejected, quarantined or reported when there is evidence of:
Water damage
Broken seals
Leakage
Missing labels
Unexplained temperature exposure
Unusually short shelf life
Incorrect quantities
Suspected falsification
22. Prepare for emergencies
Every health-commodity store should have a plan for events such as:
Fire
Flooding
Theft
Refrigerator failure
Extended power failure
Pest infestation
Structural damage
Security incidents
Product recalls
The plan should identify responsible staff, emergency contacts, backup storage locations and procedures for protecting or transferring commodities.
Digital tools and data analysis may also improve forecasting, expiry monitoring and stock-out prevention. AnjKreb’s article on artificial intelligence in African healthcare discusses how technology may support health-supply-chain planning and identify facilities at risk of shortages.
Recommended Storeroom Routine
Daily activities
Check and record temperature
Check cold-chain equipment
Inspect the room for leaks or security problems
Record all receipts and issues
Keep the work area clean
Ensure doors and restricted areas are secured
Weekly activities
Inspect products for damage
Review commodities approaching expiry
Check for pests
Review refrigerator and temperature records
Clean shelves and storage equipment as scheduled
Monthly activities
Conduct a physical inventory count
Reconcile stock with records
Review losses and adjustments
Check fire and safety equipment
Inspect the building and drainage
Review emergency arrangements
Report slow-moving and excess stock
The frequency may be increased according to product risk, programme requirements and the volume of commodities managed.
Common Storage Mistakes to Avoid
Health facilities should avoid:
Placing cartons directly on the floor
Exposing products to sunlight
Storing all medicines in a refrigerator
Leaving refrigerator doors open unnecessarily
Keeping food in a vaccine or medicine refrigerator
Issuing newly received stock before earlier-expiring stock
Mixing expired products with usable stock
Keeping incomplete inventory records
Ignoring temperature excursions
Storing chemicals beside medicines
Allowing unrestricted storeroom access
Overloading shelves or pallets
Using damaged cartons without assessing their contents
Disposing of medicines in ordinary waste
Health Commodity Storage Checklist
A properly managed storeroom should have:
A clean, dry and secure environment
Adequate ventilation and lighting
Functional shelves or pallets
Temperature-monitoring equipment
Cold-chain equipment where required
Fire-safety equipment
Pest-control measures
Clearly defined storage zones
A quarantine area
Accurate stock records
Visible batch and expiry information
FEFO stock arrangement
Restricted access
A system for managing damaged and expired products
Written standard operating procedures
Trained personnel
An emergency and contingency plan
Conclusion
Proper storage of health commodities is not simply a matter of arranging cartons neatly.
It is a quality-assurance process that protects medicines, vaccines, test kits and other supplies from damage, contamination, expiry, theft and inappropriate use.
Facilities should maintain suitable environmental conditions, monitor temperature, apply FEFO, keep accurate inventory records, secure controlled products and separate damaged or expired commodities promptly.
Well-managed health commodities remain safe and effective, reduce wastage and help ensure that patients receive the products they need when they need them.
Last fact-checked and updated: July 2026
Disclaimer
This article provides general information on health-commodity storage. Facilities should also follow product labels, manufacturers’ instructions, Nigerian regulatory requirements, national programme guidance and their approved standard operating procedures.
About the Author
Adeyinka Joseph Alonge is a public health professional, researcher and writer with interests spanning health, science, technology, personal development and practical knowledge for everyday life.
Sources and Further Reading
World Health Organization. Good Storage and Distribution Practices for Medical Products. WHO Technical Report Series 1025, Annex 7.
USAID | DELIVER Project. The Logistics Handbook: A Practical Guide for the Supply Chain Management of Health Commodities.
USAID | DELIVER Project. Guidelines for Warehousing Health Commodities.
World Health Organization. Model Guidance for the Storage and Transport of Time- and Temperature-Sensitive Pharmaceutical Products.
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