Why contraceptives at Mbarara Hospital are not used

The top management of Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital has come under the spotlight over the large numbers of contraceptives that expired in its stores last year.

According to the Auditor General's report for the financial year ending June 2018, a large stock of expired drugs was found in the hospital's stores.

Majority of these were family planning related, with auditors citing Medroxyprogesterone, an injectable contraceptive as one of them.

However, while at Parliament on Tuesday to answer queries raised by the Auditor General, John Muwanga, in his audit report for the financial year ending June 2018, the hospital director, Dr Barigye, Celestine passed the buck to the National Medical Stores (NMS) and donations with short shelf life.

"Many times, NMS pushes medicine without a requisition. In this way, sometimes we receive medicine we do not need," Barigye said.

Kalungu West MP Joseph Sewungu grills the team from Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. Photo by Timothy Murungi

However, MPs Okin Ojara, Joseph Ssewungu and Fredrick Angura tasked Barigye to table drugs requisitions during the period under review.

"This issue has been discussed with NMS and they have denied accusations of pushing drugs without requisitions," Ssewungu said.

However, Barigye had a hard time explaining the expiry of vitamin tablets and malaria testing kits under his watch.

To let malaria testing kits expire in a country where malaria remains one of the biggest causes of death, lawmakers said, is unforgivable.

The issue of contraceptives remaining unused in Mbarara Hospital might be a microcosm of nationwide low use of family planning services in Uganda.

Uganda has one of the fastest growing and youngest populations in the world which experts attribute to high fertility and anathema to contraceptives by Ugandans.