Africa-Press – Botswana. Ministry of Health is working tirelessly to alleviate shortage of medication cross government health facilities.
Appearing before the 61st Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Tuesday, the ministry’s permanent secretary Professor Oatlhokwa Nkomazana said the ministry’s current stock availability stood at 70 per cent, enough to last approximately three months. However, she said the level was below the ideal target, as the goal was to maintain a stock rate of 90 per cent, which should sustain the country for at least six months.
Prof Nkomazana noted that procurement efforts prioritised essential medications, particularly for chronic conditions.
She attributed the current shortages primarily on financial constraints, adding that delayed payments to suppliers often hinder timely production and delivery of medicines.
“Suppliers then drag their feet to manufacture and supply medications we need.
What makes it worse is that we pay them in hard currencies, which introduces additional logistical challenges,” she said.
Prof Nkomazana further said that shortage of medications across health facilities began during the COVID 19 pandemic, which significantly strained government finances.
In addition to medicine supply issues, Prof Nkomazana highlighted concerns over deteriorating infrastructure within healthcare facilities that needed immediate maintenance, noting that poorly maintained infrastructure affected quality of health service delivery to the nation.
“Challenge arises from the fact that government infrastructure projects often do not include provisions for ongoing maintenance, despite its critical importance,” she said.
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