The parliamentary health committee has taken decisive action, announcing its decision to convene the National Medical Stores (NMS) to tackle the ongoing medicine stock-out crisis plaguing government health centres.
The committee’s call for action comes in response to an impassioned call from Luwero and Mpigi regional leaders who sounded the alarm over the National Weather Service’s failure to comply with scheduled supply deliveries.
During a recent surveillance tour on Tuesday, Luwero District Health Officer Dr Innocent Nkonwa addressed MPs, revealing disturbing breaches.
Nkonwa revealed that in the 2022/23 financial year, the NMS will only supply essential medicines for four of the six designated cycles. Shockingly, none of the medicines have reached medical centers since the start of the 2023/24 financial year, leaving them on the brink of stock-out.
Luwero Hospital has borne the brunt of the crisis, with vital medicines worth a staggering Sh173 million still outstanding. Tertiary care centers in the region have suffered similar losses, with drug stock shortages worth Sh161 million in the last financial year.
This dangerous shortage has created a breeding ground for immorality, as medical staff find themselves having to sell their supplies to patients inside government facilities.
Mariam Kaberuka, deputy regional commissioner in Luwero, also expressed concern, emphasizing that the National Medicines Agency not only failed to deliver in time, but also distributed non-essential medicines.
This serious blunder erodes the trust of residents of government medical centers and further exacerbates the crisis.
Luwero District Councilwoman Brenda Nabukenya was outspoken in her criticism of the NMS’s performance. She urged the committee to review the agency’s effectiveness before making further financial allocations.
Dr AS Charles Ayume, chairman of the parliamentary health committee, also expressed the grief of Luwero and Mpiji.
He made it clear that the outcry over the NMS’ failure to supply medicines had resonated across the country. Therefore, the committee decided to summon the National Medical Supplies Store to explain its inability to perform its vital duties despite allocating procurement funds.
The repercussions of this ongoing crisis are dire. In the 2022/23 financial year, a staggering 440 people lost their lives at the medical center due to various diseases. Sadly, some of these deaths are directly attributable to a lack of essential medicines.
In a recent press statement, Sheila Nduhukire, Chief Public Relations Officer of the National Medical Store, pointed to delays in medical supplies due to delays in payment by the Ministry of Finance.
However, this explanation may offer little comfort to communities dealing with the consequences of this dire situation. As MPs called NMS to committee, the nation held its breath, eager to address this urgent medical crisis.
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