NMS boss tasked to explain drug confusion

By Eddie Ssejjoba

KAMPALA - Members of Parliament late this week put to task the general manager of the National Medical Stores Moses Kamabaale to explain anomalies in the supply of drugs in health facilities that had caused countrywide outcry over constant shortages especially in rural health facilities.

Legislators who subscribe to the Network of African Women Ministers and Parliamentarians-Uganda Chapter (NAWMP) demanded for an explanation over the ongoing contradictions as to who was responsible for drug shortages in referral and other lower health facilities.

Raising their concerns at the launch of a policy brief on “Reproductive Health Financing for Uganda: Commitment to Action”, MPs said contradictions that recently resulted in shortage of blood test kits mainly affected mothers who always need blood during delivery.

The brief was organized by Partners in Population and Development (PPD) at Hotel Protea in Kampala,

They complained that many health facilities accused NMS for refusing to allocate them the right orders in time, causing public outcry.

Other complaints touched on the delivery of drugs not required in a particular area, shortage of Mama Kits in health facilities, lack of accessibility of drugs by districts and health units, among others.

Kamabaale, however stunned MPs when he referred to the shortages as ‘artificial’, saying they were being engineered by health personnel whom he said intentionally refuse to follow procurement plans in order ‘to create a stockout’. 

“Many of the health workers intentionally fault the procurement procedures or do not order for the right drugs because they want the patients to run and buy drugs from their private clinics,a” he explained.

“Otherwise if they stock the facilities and make the right orders where will they sell their drugs, this is a public secrete that you (MPs) should follow with keen interest”.

State minister for urban development, Najjemba Muyimba said government had fulfilled President Yoweri Museveni’s commitment at the London Summit on July 11, 2013 by increasing the health budget.

She said government allocated shs8billion this year for the purchase of contraceptives and reproductive health supplies, in addition to USD3.6million from World Bank.

She said this was a result of the legislators’ continued advocacy for the improvement of maternal and child health service delivery.

   She asked fellow legislators to use their mandate to legislate and remove barriers that prevented the most vulnerable from accessing drugs in health facilities.

She appealed to health workers not to deviate from the procurement procedures to avoid shortages that affected the majority of the poor population.

The PPD African Region director, Dr. Jotham Musinguzi applauded government for the increments in the health budget, which he said would reduce maternal and infant mortalities.

“We are happy with the current government expenditures on health and we hear more is coming, this is positive towards achieving the Millennium Development goals,” he stressed.