Patients who depend on free treatment in Malawi’s public hospitals could soon breathe a sigh of relief as a new campaign moves in to confront the theft of essential medicines.
Patient and Community Welfare Foundation of Malawi (PAWEM) has launched a nationwide initiative aimed at curbing the stealing of drugs in public health facilities, a problem that has long strained service delivery and left many patients unattended.
The campaign comes amid growing concern that medicines meant for ordinary Malawians are being siphoned off before reaching hospital shelves, worsening shortages and putting lives at risk.
PAWEM’s Director of Programs and Patient Support Services, Godfrey Taonga Banda, said the initiative follows a meeting with the Parliamentary Health Committee on drug theft two weeks ago.
“We had an engagement meeting with the parliamentary health committee on drug theft two weeks ago and from that we decided as an organisation to extend our reach to all the districts in Malawi,” Banda said.
The initiative which is called “Community Health Worker Rights Initiative Program” will use local leaders, traditional leaders, faith leaders, women, and youth as active whistle-blowers against drug theft.
Banda said the program will also provide a reporting channel for other health concerns, including demands for payment for health services, maternal health issues, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and social justice issues affecting communities.
“So in particular, we are not only focusing on drug theft. We want to take an opportunity from this program to create a whistle blower for issues that concern us in Malawi,” he said.
According to Banda, the Parliamentary Health Committee encouraged PAWEM to launch the program and connected it with other institutions such as the Ombudsman that share an interest in tackling drug theft.
