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M- If you see drones flying, don’t panic, they may be ferrying medication to a patient who is in critical condition somewhere in the country.
It has been established that the Ministry of Health is considering privatising the supply of medicines and drugs in the country.
Eswatini News has learnt that the company already being considered has a success story in most countries in Africa.
Furthermore, it was gathered that what made the company succeed was the use of drones to get the medication to clients and hospitals that were urgent in need.
Due to the losses the Government of Eswatini has incurred through drug theft and inaccessibility, impeccable sources have disclosed to Eswatini News that there are means that have been considered by the Health Ministry to address the challenge.
losses
Most recently, there were reports in our sister publication, Times of Eswatini, of mushrooming illegal pharmacies and numerous losses of drugs and medicine, shortages which were attributed to theft.
There were also allegations that some employees in some of the country’s hospitals were accused of stealing medication that was meant for patients.
It was alleged that they stole
A drone carrying a box of medication. (R) Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi.
the medication and resold it in the black market, thus milking the Eswatini’s taxpayers dry as more money would be required to purchase more drugs at the expense of the tax payer. To address this challenge, the Ministry of Health resorted to the installation of CCTV cameras as a way of monitoring and curbing the loss of drugs, as they were transported from the Central Medical Stores (CMS) to the country’s hospitals.
The sources have revealed that the loss of medicines and drugs proved to be unresolved hence the ministers report which was submitted to Parliament. Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi tabled a report, stating that they were currently exploring a private partnership to try and resolve this challenge.
“That information is contained in a report I prepared for Parliament and yes, we have just completed scoping for an end-to-end inventory management (from supplier to patient), with the private sector and will be finalised soon,” said Minister Nkosi.
According to the report, medicines will be tracked from supplier to the patient. This is in line with the human capital project with the World Bank and it will be updated on the CMS system.
BenchmArking
In the report, the minister informed parliamentarians that the benchmarking was done in Lesotho and Zimbabwe and that the Ministry of Health was working together with the two countries .
“The Ministry of Health with the support from Cabinet is exploring technology for a more efficient delivery of meds to facilities, working jointly with the private sector using a combination of drones and trucks where necessary.
“This will reduce delays in ensuring meds from suppliers to facilities and a more seamless and quick delivery.
“We will be able to cut costs on fuel usage as well as vehicle wear and tear.
“More importantly drastically reduce possibility of meds expiring on the shelves,” reads the report from the minister.
The minister further mentioned that they were working together with NERCHA (National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS) and the ministry had submitted a proposal to donors for the construction of a modern and more appropriate facility to deal with the expiring of drugs problem.
Furthermore, the ministry clarified in the report that a key component of good health systems was uninterrupted access to effective, safe, quality and affordable medicines.
The ministry stated that it was working on the use of an electronic inventory management system, for monitoring and improving the visibility of medicines and the supply chain management of medicines as one of the ways of improving access. “This will also assist in ensuring the rational use of the available medicines.
“The waste management of obsolete pharmaceuticals and diagnostics is also a challenge faced by the ministry and the private sector at large.
“The ministry is currently exploring a private partnership to try and resolve the challenge,” further read the report.
EnhAncement
The ministry further emphasised that it was vital to ensure a reliable healthcare and supply system for the provision of medicines, because it was critical and could be realised through monitoring enhancements to identify more rapidly and accurately the medicine needs and shortages.
These approaches include monthly collections of data regarding medicine consumption or distribution; establishing an immediate warning system to detect shortages; expanding the data collection network to all parts of the country and establishing an information centre for medicine shortages.