Minister fumes over expired drugs
ASHOCKING discovery of medicines expiring on warehouse shelves while health facilities have no stocks, has left new Health Minister, Jonas Chanda fuming.
This came to light when Dr. Chanda visited the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA), formerly Medical Stores yesterday.
Dr Chanda yesterday blasted ZAMMSA, for hoarding medicines and other supplies in their warehouses to the point of expiry when there are no drugs in health facilities.
The newly renamed health facility yesterday had a hard time explaining why medicines were expiring in their warehouses when there were no drugs in health facilities.
Dr Chanda, who was visibly disappointed with the development warned that heads would roll once personnel who had acted carelessly for the drugs to expire were identified.
Dr Chanda said it was unacceptable that Government was spending millions on medicines that end up being disposed of instead of being distributed to health facilities.
He heard that among the expired products were essential drugs like Aminophylline, insulin, hydrogen peroxide, cloxacillin oral, eye drops and family planning pills.
He said when he toured health facilities, one of the major challenges being reported was the lack of essential drugs.
Dr Chanda questioned why medicines were expiring when health facilities were crying for the same supplies.
He warned that if there were any cartels at ZAMMSA with the aim of sabotaging government operations they would be fished out.
Dr Chanda ordered ZAMMSA management to give him a comprehensive presentation on expired medical products tomorrow and how they were proposing to curtail the situation.
He said the procurement department would be shifted to ZAMMSA so that there was no blame game with staff at the ministry headquarters.
This follows claims by ZAMMSA operations manager, Rachael Muyoma that some of the drugs were stuck at their warehouses because the ministry procured products that were not readily needed.
Dr Chanda said the report must clearly state the people that failed to discharge certain functions that resulted in products being expired.
And Ms Muyoma told the minister that some of the products which were about to be disposed of expired in 2019 and that they had remained in the warehouse all this time due to lack of funds.