Africa-Press – Botswana. The Botswana Doctors’ Union has called for improved monitoring and evaluation because much medication goes to waste when vast quantities of expired drugs have to be destroyed after overstocking at Central Medical Stores and in excessive prescriptions for patients.
The current acute shortage of drugs at public health facilities across the country is caused by wastage after overstocking at Central Medical Stores, the Botswana Doctors’ Union has said.
Speaking in an interview with The Botswana Gazette in the midst of the Public Health State of Emergency, the president of BDU, Dr Kefilwe Selema, called on the government to curb such wastage of drugs.
He asserted that medication for several days is often prescribed for patients with minor ailments such a light headache. “This is wastage because the patient will only use the prescription for a day and the rest goes to waste,” he said.
Root causes
Dr Selema said the ongoing distribution of drugs and other medical supplies should serve as a learning curve and an opportunity to identify the root causes of the shortages.
He emphasised that to avoid unnecessary stock depletion, prescriptions should align with the patient’s actual needs, “not several days’ supply”.
He added that proper monitoring would allow the government to procure drugs based on real demand and ensure that they reach facilities where they are most needed.
Monitoring and evaluation
He identified lack of proper monitoring and evaluation as another serious cause of the current shortages, saying Central Medical Stores (CMS) often stockpiles drugs that eventually expire and are destroyed.
Dr Selema noted that some patients, particularly those on ARVs, collect medication from multiple facilities but do not use all of it, thus contributing to wastage.
In recent years, CMS has been criticised for stockpiling drugs that eventually expire and are destroyed after failing to reach health facilities on time.
P46m expired drugs
In 2010, the Auditor General reported that CMS had expired drugs covering the period from April 2010 to March 2018 with an estimated cost of over P26 million.
Similarly, the Auditor General has reported that in 2007 CMS discarded more than P20 million worth of expired medical supplies.
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