Drug shortages linked to theft

Malawi’s hospitals are running short of essential medicines as stolen government drugs find their way onto the market, leaving patients struggling to access treatment.

Parliamentary Committee on Health chairperson Anthony Masamba says some of the missing medicines are even being sold at Kariakoo Market in Tanzania, including Panadol and amoxicillin allegedly marked as property of the Malawi Government.

Masamba claimed that Kariakoo, a market in Tanzania, is selling medicines such as Panadol and amoxicillin identified as property of the Malawi government.

Speaking to the local media on Saturday, he said essential medicines are available at only 75 percent nationally, a situation he described as “dire,” with hospitals running out of drugs.

He noted that four years ago, national availability stood at 41 percent, while at central hospitals such as Queen Elizabeth, Zomba, Kamuzu and Mzuzu, it was as low as 18 percent, something he said had never happened before.

Masamba links drug shortages to theft

To illustrate, he said that if Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, which serves the whole southern region, were supposed to receive 100 packets of Panado, only 18 would be available.

Masamba also said that a week ago he received reports from other regions that patients are dying because of drug shortages in hospitals.

He said theft of drugs happens at different layers of the supply chain, including sole-sourced procurement and what he called “drug privilege,” in which medical practitioners are the ones stealing the medicines.

He added that some pharmacies and medicine-producing companies collude in the theft.

He said the committee will conduct an investigation to identify gaps in the procurement process that allow drugs to be stolen, and to establish how drugs released to hospitals end up being sold on the market.

He added that the committee will make recommendations based on the inquiry, setting out its position on the Pharmacy and Medicines Regulatory Authority (PMRA) Act and other laws related to the Act.