K6.5bn budget: Are drugs reaching patients?

“The loop is in the source that leads to significant drugs as compared to someone stealing two boxes,” he said.

He also raised concerns about possible conflicts of interest where health professionals prescribe medicines while having ownership interests in private pharmacies.

“You can’t be prescribing and sending people to your own pharmacy.” He said such conduct could create a conflict of interest and called for the relevant authorities, including the Anti-Corruption Commission, to examine such cases where necessary.

Dr Chibwe further pointed to reports of government medicines being found in private pharmacies, including medicines marked “Not for Sale”.

He said authorities should go beyond recovering such medicines and establish their source. “Make sure they trace the source of this instead of just being because you’ve got drugs,” he said.

“We can have people that check in, stock in, stock out, and do the stock checks for the drugs that come in,” he said. He also supported stronger supervision and the use of surveillance systems in areas where medicines are stored.

To strengthen accountability, Dr Chibwe proposed tighter controls over the movement of medicines within health facilities, including recording stock received and issued and conducting regular stock checks.

Article by Karen Ngulube