Gov’t dismisses shortage of medication claim
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Monday April 3, 2023 06:00
Lately parents whose children have being diagnosed with measles, have been complaining about lack of medications, consequently forcing them to buy from chemists and pharmacies.
Some parents also indicated that they went to various health facilities where they did not even get a single medicine for their children. The parents said they were told there were no children’s medicines especially in government health facilities in greater Gaborone.
In an interview this week, health ministry spokesperson, Dr Christopher Nyanga said the ministry is engaged in an aggressive public education exercise to sensitise Batswana about measles and rubella and also encouraged them to take their children for all due vaccines. He also indicated that the Ministry had been receiving various medications including for chronic conditions.
“Although the supplies has not reached the level where all medications will be available in all our facilities all the time, there is some improvement when compared to some months ago. Currently 13 cases of measles and one case of rubella have been detected in the country. A small proportion of children who have been vaccinated against measles and rubella form part of the cases detected in the country,” he explained.
Dr Nyanga also pointed out that it was normal because not all children vaccinated were always immune from disease infection, due to various reasons. He said in some cases, some children’s antibodies would react differently to the vaccine and thus expose them to infections, differently from others. However, he explained that regardless of their antibody reaction, the vaccine would always reduce the severity of the disease and complications thereof, for all the vaccinated.
He said measles was a viral respiratory disease transmitted by air when an infected person coughs or sneezes and could be contracted at any age. Dr Nyanga added that it was a vaccine preventable disease that could be deadly, particularly for children who had missed routine childhood immunisations. He pointed out that the main symptoms of the disease included fever and rash. “However, other infected people may in addition to these, experience runny nose, cough, red and watery eyes, and white sores in the mouth.
The most serious complications include blindness, encephalitis (an infection that causes brain swelling), severe diarrheoa and related dehydration as well as ear infection or severe respiratory infections such as pneumonia. Best hygiene practices are highly recommended as a precautionary measure,” Dr Nyanga explained. The ministry advised members of the public not to panic but remain vigilant, since all processes were in place to detect and control the spread of this disease.
It assured the public that it has a strong surveillance system in place which was not only capable of timeously detecting and investigating any suspected case of measles but many other diseases as well. Anyone feeling unwell is advised to visit the nearest health facility for medical attention. Cases of measles and rubella have been detected in Greater Gaborone DHMT, Kweneng DHMT, Greater Francistown DHMT, Tutume DHMT, Serowe/Palapye DHMT and Greater Selebi-Phikwe DHMT.