Drug theft worries Health Ministry

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Peter Kumpalume

Malawi’s Ministry of health has expressed worry over rampant drug theft in the country’s public hospitals saying it scares drug donors.

Speaking to Malawi24 on Thursday, Minister of health Peter Kumpalume emphasized that the conduct is evil and subjects many Malawians to health risks.

He reminded masterminds of such acts that due to their selfishness, the United States of America has threatened to cut drug aid.

Peter Kumpalume
Kumpalume: Says the development remains worrisome.

“That’s totally unacceptable and evil. Many Malawians are subjected to preventable deaths because someone has a tendency of stealing drugs. It’s very unfortunate,” said Kumpalume.

Recently Malawi24 published an article that highlighted the US embassy’s threat to withhold its aid to Malawi due to some medics’ tendency to steal public resources like drugs.

Against this threat, the ministry of health says it will map some new ways on how such thieves can be caught and brought to book.

Kumpalume hinted at the possibility of introducing a toll free number so that the public can be informing the ministry in cases where drugs are being stolen.

“We have designed a lot of ways to deal with drug theft. We are mulling over coming up with a toll free and conducting awareness campaigns so that we engage the public in a war against drug theft,” he said.

Malawi24 understands that some medics steal drugs due to lack of motivation as most of them often complain of being paid peanuts while others stock them in their own private clinics.