The National Drug Authority (NDA) has warned managers and staff of government health facilities against stealing publicly supplied medicines, particularly antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and malaria treatments, saying the practice undermines healthcare delivery and deprives patients of essential medicines.
NDA spokesperson Abiaz Rwamwiri said the authority had recovered government medicines worth approximately Shs25 billion over the past three to four years, adding that the recovered drugs represented only a fraction of the medicines believed to have been stolen.
Rwamwiri alleged that some health workers conceal medicines in rubbish bins, coffins and toilets in attempts to smuggle them out of health facilities. He also warned that improper handling and storage can damage medicines, rendering them unsuitable for use.
He identified Luweero District among the areas affected by the vice, saying more than nine government health workers had been interdicted, while others were under police investigation over alleged medicine theft and demands for money from patients.
According to Rwamwiri, stolen government medicines are sometimes sold across Uganda’s borders, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, depriving patients in public facilities of essential treatment.
“Statistics indicate that at least 30 per cent of the medicines supplied by the government are stolen. We are going to conduct an operation in Luweero, and whoever is arrested will be made an example of. Those who steal government medicines are traitors because they sell them to other people, including in Congo and Sudan, while patients here go without treatment,” Rwamwiri said.
He made the remarks during a meeting with managers of government health facilities in Luweero District to discuss measures to curb medicine theft and improve accountability in the management and distribution of public medical supplies.
Luweero District Health Officer Innocent Nkonwa said the district had introduced new measures to strengthen the management and distribution of medicines in public health facilities.
Under the new arrangement, medicines will be distributed twice a week through a central distribution point, with only trained and authorised personnel permitted to handle the supplies.
“We have introduced a system under which medicines will be distributed twice a week through one serving centre. Not everyone will be allowed to distribute them. We shall train pharmacy staff so that they can properly manage records and ensure accountability,” Nkonwa said.
The measures are intended to improve record-keeping, strengthen oversight and reduce opportunities for medicines to be diverted from their intended recipients.
Luweero Resident District Commissioner Mariam Nalubega urged health facility managers to strengthen supervision and ensure that medicines supplied by the government reach the patients for whom they are intended.
She warned that stolen medicines could be misused, including the alleged administration of antiretroviral drugs intended for human patients to poultry.
Nalubega called on health workers to uphold professional standards and ensure that public medical supplies are handled and administered responsibly.
Meanwhile, Luweero District Chairperson Erasto Kibirango cautioned health workers against soliciting or accepting money from patients under the guise of appreciation, warning that such conduct could expose them to corruption-related investigations and prosecution.
Kibirango said expectations of unofficial payments for public services undermine trust in government institutions and compromise the delivery of essential services.
“Some people we work with have a corrupt mindset and believe that no service should be provided for free. Even after helping someone, they expect to give in something in exchange. There is a health worker who is in prison after a patient gave her Shs10,000 as a token of appreciation. Let us avoid such practices,” Kibirango said.
The officials called for stronger supervision, secure storage of medicines, accurate inventory records and stricter accountability measures to prevent theft and ensure that government supplies remain available to patients who depend on public health facilities.
The NDA's planned enforcement operation in Luweero is expected to form part of broader efforts to address the diversion of government medicines and strengthen accountability across the public healthcare system.