Medical supplies dry over huge debt

Sikika executive director Irenei Kiria addresses the media in Dar es Salaam yesterday. PHOTO|SALIM SHAO 

By  Athuman Mtulya, The Citizen Reporter 

IN SUMMARY

• A Health and Social Welfare spokesperson Mr Nsachris Mwamaja, last week confirmed that the majority of public health facilities were facing shortages owing to lack of money

Dar es Salaam. Alarm was raised yesterday over a looming crisis in the health sector, for the supply of medicine to public hospitals could dry up due to mounting government debts.

It has emerged that the Medical Stores Department (MSD) has stopped further supplies of essential medicine to government-run health facilities until Sh90 billion owed to the agency by the institutions is paid.

Sikika, a local NGO that works to promote quality health services revealed yesterday that the huge amount owed to MSD has made it untenable for the agency to procure medicine for dispensaries, health centres and other medical facilities across the country.

“The government has to release the funds on time to public hospitals so that they can pay the MSD. Those affected are poor citizens who can’t afford the cost charged at private hospitals,” said Mr Irenei Kiria, the Sikika executive director.

He said Sikika has official information from MSD that supplies would only be ascertained by release of funds for drugs and other medical supplies.

“What is happening has serious repercussions if not handled carefully. MSD insiders have told us that medicine is available but the agency is enforcing the requirement for payment to avoid a situation where they have nothing left in their coffers,” said Mr Kiria. 

He said the consequence has already been felt, with last week’s media reports that a cancer patient at the Ocean Road clinic had died due to lack of life sustaining drugs. 

According to figures availed by Sikika, the largest referral hospital in the country, Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), with a Sh8 billion debt, is one of those affected by MSD’s poor situation. The Ocean Road Cancer Institute apparently owes the MSD Sh38 million.

He said though regrettable, MSD needs money to pay for procurement, storage and distribution of the medicines and staff salaries.

“The government has been promising to clear the debt in their budgets but it has not and the arrears shot from Sh50 billion in 2012 to the current Sh90 billion,” he said.

Efforts to contact MSD acting director Cosmas Mwaifani did not bear fruit as his phone went unanswered. A text message to his phone did not elicit a response either by press time.

Similar efforts to reach health minister Seif Rashid and his PS were also futile as their lines were unobtainable the whole day yesterday.

Last week, however, the  ministry of Health and Social Welfare spokesperson, Mr Nsachris Mwamaja, confirmed that the majority of public health facilities are facing shortages owing to lack of money.  He was quoted by the Mwananchi newspaper as saying: “They (public hospitals) have to wait, the government faces a shortage of funds; that’s why we haven’t channelled money to MSD.”

But Mr Kiria questioned government commitment to make good its pledge in heath sector funding. He noted that while the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) shows that Sh500 billion is needed to sustain health operations, the state had only allocated Sh70 billion for this financial year.

This concern comes at a time when the government is facing a critical test in meeting its budget obligations, especially after the donor community withheld $558 million (about Sh950 billion) in budget support over graft queries.

A huge chunk of the donor money is usually directed to social sectors, health included. Other areas that could suffer are infrastructure, water and sanitation, energy and education.

Already, the higher students’ loans board is in arrears running into billions of shillings even as students stream back for the new semester.

 Other funding challenges facing the State include plans for the referendum on the proposed new constitution slated for April 2015, purchase of bio-metric voter registration kits (BVRs) and mounting the exercise countrywide and preparations for the local government elections slated for December. Others are the ongoing issuance of the national identity cards and the preparations for the 2015 General Election.

The Citizen exclusively reported how the donors have tied their commitment to the outcome of the investigation by the controller and auditor general into the IPTL sale deal.

This paper also exclusively revealed the IPTL scandal which involved a Kenyan businessman who took control of the power company under questionable circumstances.

Economic analysts who spoke to The Citizen last week said news on the aid embargo and the possibility of a delay in securing the MCC-II funding could deal a blow to fulfilment of government budget pledges.

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