Medication still at desperate levels

Sir,

A health system consists of all organisations, people and actions whose primary intent is to promote, restore or maintain health. This includes efforts to influence determinants of health as well as more direct health-improving activities. The mission statement of the Ministry of Health states that the ministry seeks to improve the health and social welfare of the people of Eswatini by providing preventative services that are of high quality, relevant, accessible, affordable, equitable and socially acceptable.

Statement

The ministry’s mission statement is supposed to act as a guide to its officials, but what is happening on the ground has revealed that the opposite is actually true.

The inconsistent supply of medication is still at a desperate level. Are we really in the woods to the point that we cannot afford the basics of healthcare services? We all know where we can trim the fat to grease the healthcare system but that will now sound like a broken record because we have said it over and over again that this country needs to start prioritising the fight against corruption which emanates from its spending patterns. Its spending patterns should be in line with the kingdom’s economy.

Space

There is not enough space to write instances where patients have been told to buy medication at pharmacies as there is still no medication in public hospitals. There seriously needs to be a parliamentary inquiry into the leadership of the public healthcare sector in the country. There have been numerous instances that have shown that this crucial public system is not being managed properly. Someone or individuals must be held accountable for the mess that this sector has found itself in.

Some fundamental questions need to be asked, is the public healthcare sector underfunded; are the relevant stakeholders at the Health Ministry doing the work that should be done to resuscitate the public healthcare sector? Yes, there are challenges but the continuous excuse of blaming other factors instead of solving the problem, while they may be valid, is disingenuous and tiring. EmaSwati do not need excuses but action to remedy this situation. Seemingly there is no proper plan on how to handle this crisis.

LiSwati