Medical drug shortages hit Malawi public hospitals as DHOs exhaust budgets
Most district public hospitals have run out of essential medical drugs as DHOs have exhausted their budget allocations for buying drugs for 2016/17 financial year.
Health ministry spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe confirmed that most hospitals have run out of medical drug stocks.
“This is very serious indeed. The ministry will be meeting other stakeholders to see what can be done,” he said.
Some district health officers (DHOs) expressed concern when their medical drug allocation was slashed by the Finance minister Goodall Gondwe, in most cases up to half of their budgets.
Parliamentary Health Committee chair Juliana Lunguzi described the situation in public hospitals as a crisis.
“The only solution to this problem is to let people pay for the health services,” she said.
The government is reluctant to implement the pay for your medical drugs policy as it can turn out to be a big political storm that can cost the government heavily during the 2019 general election.
People however pay a modest K1500 contribution when they visit Kamuzu Central Hospital.
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The shortage of drugs in government hospitals is yet another tragic failure of the DPP President Peter Muthalika’s leadership which has dragged our country further to unprecedented sufferings of our people.If there is money to transport Muthalika and his cohorts abroad for medical treatment,it is profoundly disgusting and criminally offensive to leave the tax-payers languishing in dilapidated and outdated hospitals.SHAME PETER!!!! During your last trip to the US in a private owned Jet that costs millions of USD apart from USD16million for your medical bills which you intended to keep underhand.The Malawi inept President Peter Muthalika has never missed useless… Read more »