Use sin tax, sugar levies to buy drugs – SWADNU
MANZINI – As the drugs shortage persists in health facilities, nurses are proposing that a fund be created which will be funded by sin tax and sugar levies.
This money, they said, would assist in ensuring that the rigmarole regarding the financing of the health sector in the country was sorted out. Their proposal, according to the Secretary General (SG) of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), Mayibongwe Masangane, was a last ditch in having medication in public health facilities, as they have been on tenterhooks for ages.
Masangane said it was a known fact that medication was as limited as scholarships in the country. He said given the shortages, which had seen some items being on stock-out for periods exceeding three years, they were of the view that the levies would assist in stabilising the situation.
“We are seeking that the ministry looks for alternative funding such that a fund is set up for the health sector and is separate from all the other sectors,” Masangane said.
He said they were proposing that the sin tax should fund specifically the health sector because the long-term effects of the consumables falling into this excise duty affected the health of the citizenry.
It is worth noting that items under the sin tax comprise of spirits (vodka, whisky), beer, wine and cigarettes. According to the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) website, excise duties are paid on alcoholic drinks, tobacco products, road fuels, cars, TVs and refrigerators.
Meanwhile, Masangane said this proposal was aimed at ensuring that government was able to fund the health sector at all times, using the items which were negatively affecting the public’s health. He said at the moment, hospitals were without a high number of essential medication.
Shortage
This publication last year reported that about 211 pharmaceuticals had not been delivered to government health facilities for lengthy periods, exceeding three years. It was reported that despite government’s efforts to improve the availability of medication by adding 50 per cent to the allocation of drugs, the shortage was still there.
This is because the Ministry of Health, at the end of the past financial year, spent E1 035 147 109.43 on medical drugs with a recurrent expenditure of E884 368 584.22.
The 50 per cent is derived from comparing the two past financials, which reflects an increase in the expenditure for medical drugs by E345 146 948.92. This is because the amount of money spent by the ministry on medical drugs increased from E690 000 160.51 (expenditure in financial year ended March 31, 2021) to E1 035 147 109.43.
Meanwhile, this perennial challenge has existed and has been a subject of various debates in the august House, with some legislators claiming that the best solution to the drug shortage would be to pass a vote of no confidence in the 11th Parliament’s Cabinet.
Despite the various calls and proposed improvements, sources have claimed that there have been various shortages of drugs, spanning over a period of three years for others, while some have not been available for various timeframes.
A source at Pigg’s Peak Government Hospital said for the past three years, the hospital had been without over 26 types of drugs.
Also, another source at the Mbabane Government Hospital claimed that the shortage of medication had become a norm at the health facility. She said the shortage of the medication was so serious such that there were over 100 pharmaceuticals that had been on stock-out in a lengthy period.
Clinics
These pharmaceuticals that have been on stock-out included those used at the Dental, Eye and at the Dermatology clinics. The sources claimed that the medication had not been available for a close to a year.
It was further reported that some clinics were without common cold syrups, cold and flu tablets and anti-acid medication such as mayogel for over two years.
Another major hospital that was said to have been out of certain medication for a period exceeding a year was the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital.
Meanwhile, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Simon Zwane, said: “This is basically addressing health financing. The ministry and its stakeholders will be engaged in this conversation aiming at finding a sustainable way of financing health.”
He said the argument on collecting sin taxes was based on the fact that some of these habits such as smoking, have long-term negative health effects, which end-up requiring a lot of money to treat.