Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has written Parliament’s Health Committee over what it describes as a looming drug storage crisis in the country.
CDEDI executive director Sylvester Namiwa says the Central Medical Stores Trust (CMST) is struggling to pay foreign suppliers more than US$18 million, a situation he says could worsen persistent drug shortages in public health facilities.
In a letter to Health Committee chairperson Anthony Masamba, Namiwa has asked Parliament to urgently convene a high-level meeting to find a lasting solution to the problem.
Namiwa says CMST is currently accessing between US$50,000 and US$70,000 from commercial banks, which is insufficient to settle its debts with foreign suppliers.
He says Malawi requires about US$25 million annually to procure medicines, translating to about US$2 million every month.
Namiwa says the situation is particularly concerning because Malawi imports about 80 percent of its medicines.
“Much as we commend government for increased and timely disbursement of funding to Central, General and District Hospitals, the country is faced with critical persistent drug stockouts that will shortly culminate into a fully blown crisis, if nothing is done to address the situation,” he says.
CDEDI has also questioned CMST’s decision to move away from local suppliers, saying local companies previously sourced forex to import medicines while being paid by CMST in kwacha.
Namiwa says the situation raises questions about how the country’s limited forex is being prioritised.
He has urged the Health Committee to use its powers to bring relevant stakeholders together and address the problem before the drug shortage develops into a full-blown crisis.
