28 Mar 2019

Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Biggie Butale says his ministry has experienced shortages of some essential drugs in government public health institutions including Francistown.

Mr Butale said this in response to a question posed by MP for Francistown East, Mr Buti Billy in Parliament on March 26. He cited a number of reasons for the persistent shortage of medicines at both Central Medical Stores and other health facilities, which include, delayed deliveries by suppliers, unavailability of raw materials and companies discontinuing production of some medicines.

“However, the policy of my ministry is that where a drug is not available, prescribers should use alternatives and my ministry will continue to improve communication to ensure that this policy is implemented,” he said. Mr Butale said his ministry had provided micro-procurement funds to hospitals and District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) so that where possible items that were out of stock at CMS could be bought from the private sector.

Francistown East legislator had asked the minister to state why shortage of some essential drugs in Francistown was persistent in government public health institutions. Ends