Allan Mayanja Ssebunya, the Nakaseke Central Member of Parliament and Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE), said that the destruction of the medical supplies was both a waste of funds and denial of health services to the Ugandans.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Diana Atwine, has defended the destruction of medical supplies worth 316.7 billion Shillings. According to the Auditor General's report for the financial year
2023/24, the National Medical Stores destroyed COVID-19 vaccines, ARVs, testing kits, and essential medicines valued at 316.7 billion Shillings.
Auditor General Edward Akol noted that this financial year's
figure marks a significant increase from the 33 billion Shillings’ worth of
medical supplies destroyed in 2022/23. Allan Mayanja Ssebunya, the Nakaseke Central Member of
Parliament and Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on Commissions,
Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE), said that the
destruction of the medical supplies was both a waste of funds and denial of
health services to the Ugandans.
Mayanja wondered how the medical supplies that are lacking
in health centers could end up expiring and be destroyed under the watch of the Ministry of Health. Mayanja said that as the Committee on Commissions,
Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises, they will soon task National Medical Stores-NMS and the Ministry of
Health to defend themselves over the matter.
// Cue in: “Kwegamba otuula…
Cue out;….efanana bwetyo.’’//
According to the Auditor General
report, the COVID-19 vaccines, ARVs, and testing kits were worth 293.5 billion
shillings whereas essential medicines and health supplies were valued at 23.2
billion Shillings. However, Dr. Atwine explained that the Ministry got a
grant from the World Bank to purchase the COVID-19 vaccines but by the time the procurement and delivery were made, the pandemic was no longer a concern for Ugandans.
She added that the COVID-19 vaccines expired in hospitals
after Ugandans refused to utilize them. She said that after the vaccines expired, the Global
Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) extended another grant to
destroy them. Atwine said that the Ministry of Health shouldn’t be blamed
because factors that include procurement delays and declining demand for the vaccines were above them.
// Cue in: “Njakukijayo wano…
Cue out;…ggwe guliwa.’’//
However, Atwine didn’t explain the circumstances under which ARVs, other essential medicines, and health supplies expired
in health centers. As of September 2023, COVID-19
had killed 3632 people and 171, 869 cases had been confirmed in Uganda.
Ministry of Health launched the
COVID-19 Vaccination campaign on 10th March 2021
and by September 2023, a total of
26,471,494 closes of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered to the population
across the country before the uptake reduced drastically.
