Malawi government assures of availability of Malaria drugs LA in public hospitals
Government through the Ministry of Health has assured the general public that the country has adequate Anti-Malarial Drugs – Artemether Lumefantrine (LA) in its health facilities and central level warehouses that could take the country through to December, 2017.
According to a statement by the Chief of Health Services in the Ministry of Health Dr Charles Mwansambo, Malaria is a major public health burden in Malawi and there are about 6,000,000 Malaria patients seen every year in both public and Cham Health Facilities in the country.
According to Mwansambo, every health facility in the country reports its consumption and stock status of Malaria commodities through District Councils by the 10th of every month to central level.
In response to these reports, the government of Malawi through the Ministry of Health, National Malaria Control Programme with support from development partners distributes malaria drugs in a regular basis as a top up to a 3 months stock on hand for each health facility.
“The Ministry of Health has a current stock status at central level that can last for the next 9 months,” stipulates Mwansambo adding that, “Huge investments have been made in the control of Malaria by both the Malawian Government and development partners such as USAID/Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI), Global Fund and others through procurement of Anti-malaria Drugs, Long Lasting Insecticide Mosquito Nets, Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests, and support to distribution and other control measures.”
The Ministry clarifies that there is no Malarial Drug crisis in the country.
“Collaborative efforts with District Councils will continue to make sure that consumption and stock status reports are generated and sent, and adequate malaria drugs are supplied to avoid false stock-outs,” Mwansambo concludes.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :