Shortage
of essential drugs at public health centres in The Gambia would come to pass as
the government is working on ensuring an uninterrupted supply of essential
medicines and other health commodities.
Health
Minister Saffie Lowe-Ceesay said the government, through the Ministry of
Health, has recognised access to medicine as a fundamental human right, which
is why the ministry is working on making sure drugs are available at all times
With
the adoption of the National Medicines Policy, the ministry is committed to
providing essential medicines to the health facilities.
The
policy is aimed at ensuring the continuous availability and accessibility of
drugs at the appropriate quality, safety and efficacy.
“In
recent years, there has been an increase in the budget allocation [for
essential drugs] but it is still below the required amount needed to procure
the entire requirement for the country,” the health minister said at the
National Assembly in Banjul during a question and answer session of the second
ordinary session of the 2017 legislative year.
In
order to fill in the funding gap, the Ministry has embarked on resource
mobilisation through World Bank and other donors, she further explained.
Madam
Lowe-Ceesay said the strategies aimed at attaining the uninterrupted supply of
essential drugs include strengthening the public health supply chain management
and logistics management information system to make it more responsive to the
public’s need by delivering the right product in the right quantity at the
right health facility.
Also,
a monitoring and evaluation unit has been created under the Department of
Planning and Information and it is mandated to regularly monitor all supplies
across the health supply chain.
“This
is in addition to the already monitoring and control measures in place to
guarantee accountability and transparency in handling medicines and other
related supplies at all health facilities,” she said.
Challenges
However,
the health minister said the goal of providing uninterrupted supply of
essential drugs “is faced with numerous challenges” such as increase in
population, resource constraints, and emerging new diseases.
She
also cited low level of investment in health as another challenge hampering the
health sector.
“This
is further complicated by the low cost recovery rates charged on drugs,
diagnostics and certain services by the Drug Revolving Fund (DRF),” Madam
Lowe-Ceesay said.
