THE government plans to start purchasing medicines from pharmaceutical industries instead of buying the products from business people in a bid to cut down cost and ensure availability of drugs in public health facilities.
The Minister of Health, Community
Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu declared
yesterday while contributing to President John Magufuli’s parliament
inaugural speech.
She said the government is all out to ensure that public hospitals all over the country have adequate medical supply.
“We want to start purchasing medicines
from manufactures unlike currently when we are buying from business
people. By doing this, we will be in a position of having adequate
medicines and cutting down cost,” she noted.
Currently, the minister noted that
Medical Stores Department (MSD), is capable of supplying drugs at 75 per
cent and the target is to reach at least 95 per cent. In a move to
control theft of MSD drugs, Minister Mwalimu said the government has
started labeling its medicines.
According to the minister, the labeling
of government medicine is regarded as an important step to reduce the
theft of such products. She revealed that so far 80 per cent of all
drugs have been labeled.
“We have started labeling our medicines
so as to reduce stealing on one hand and proliferation of fake and
substandard drugs on the other,” she said, adding that they are fully
prepared to control drug theft. The minister pointed out that the
government through MSD has improved purchasing, distribution and storage
of drugs.
“The government will not stand by and
let medicines it has purchased at a very high cost ultimately end up in
the hands of unscrupulous traders for self interest,” she noted.
She further asserted that her ministry
is working around the clock to ensure that all regional and referral
hospitals are capacitated to diagnose all diseases.
The minister also announced that in
collaboration with Regional Administration and Local Government,
TAMISEMI, the government plans to build health dispensaries and health
centers in all villages and wards respectively
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