Health ministry blames finance for drug stockout

Feb 02, 2023

Aceng faulted the finance ministry for insisting that funds from donors for buying drugs must first be posted on the consolidated account, which is managed by the finance ministry

Health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng

By Henry Sekanjako and Moses Mulondo
Journalists @New Vision

Health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng has attributed the widespread scarcity of drugs in government health facilities to rigidities and delays by the finance ministry in releasing funds to the National Medical Stores (NMS). 

Aceng says a directive by the finance ministry in Financial Year 2019/2020 that all financial transactions of NMS be effected through the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), took away its flexibilities. 

She has also faulted the finance ministry for insisting that funds from donors for buying drugs must first be posted on the consolidated account, which is managed by the finance ministry before the funds can be accessed by NMS.  

In a statement presented to Parliament on Wednesday, Aceng said NMS is unable to have funds required for delivery of medicines and medical supplies at the beginning of every quarter, yet such deliveries are a continuous process that should not be halted. 

“With specific reference to this financial year, actual funds for the first quarter were not available to NMS until August 2022. In the second quarter, funds were not available until the first week of November 2022,” she said.  

The minister also faulted the finance ministry for selecting ways of releasing funds for buying drugs which greatly disrupt their plans.  

“It has also been noted that the finance ministry in honouring payments, usually picks out some and leaves others. In most cases, those left have a direct effect on delivery of essential medicines and medical supplies which frustrates service delivery,” Aceng said. 

 IFMS enshrine in Act

Finance state minister Henry Musasizi said IFMS is provided for by the Public Finance Management Act and argued accordingly that NMS is not an exceptional vote to receive funding differently.

“NMS does not want to belong to IFMS. As long as you are a vote, you must comply with the requirements of the Public Finance Management Act,” Musasizi said.  

He added that the finance ministry advised NMS to adopt quarterly resource planning and make use of the prepayments and advances functionality on IFMS to address their challenge.  

After the submission of Musasizi, a big number of MPs stood up to possibly spit fire, but Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa appealed to them to hold their fire and put their “guns” down. 

“I know the direction this matter could take us if I opened for debate. If two ministries do not agree, this should have gone to the Prime Minister. Whereas you are disagreeing and talking about your systems, people are dying because they are being denied essential medicines,” Tayebwa said. 

He argued that it is unacceptable for Ugandans to continue dying over absence of drugs, which are supposed to be procured from their own money that comes from the taxes they pay to the Government. 

Tayebwa, who noted that he rarely uses commanding language, directed Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to convene a meeting with the finance and health ministries and report to Parliament on Thursday on steps they have agreed on to address the problem of drug stock out in public health facilities. 

More funding needed

Last week legislators from various regions of Uganda reported to Parliament that their hospitals are experiencing shortage of drugs.  

Meanwhile, the Parliament health committee has in its report appealed to the executive to allocate more funds to NMS to procure enough medicines. 

The Health Committee has suggested the need for government to allocate an extra sh109.8b to NMS in the 2023/2024 national budget.  

While appearing before the Parliament Health Committee recently in the course of scrutinising the Budget Framework Paper, NMS management appealed to Parliament and the Executive to allocate them an extra sh298b in their budget for the next financial year of 2023/2024 to address the funding gap created by donors withdrawing their support. 

Donors withdraw support

NMS general manager Moses Kamabare told Parliament that since donors who have for long provided funding for essential medicines such as anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs), sexual reproductive products and TB drugs have notified them about their plan to withdraw funding. The Government must, therefore, plan to take full charge next financial year.   

Kamabare told the committee that NMS has been allocated sh513b as their 2023/2024 financial year budget, which is he said not adequate given the nationwide demand for drugs.

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