This comes amid reports that government hospitals are facing a serious challenge of drug shortage. In and of itself, outsourcing, or engaging the private sector to complement government, is not a bad idea. However, it is open to abuse and corruption, if not properly managed. It was not so long ago that the supply and distribution of drugs was tasked to the Central Medical Stores (CMS), a parastatal, with the hope and belief such a centralised system would improve service-delivery.
Our interview with the Assistant Minister of Health Gaotlhaetse Matlhabaphiri and CMS representatives in August last year revealed that the government was upbeat that everything was on track towards addressing shortage of drugs at government health facilities. Matlhabaphiri said among several measures put in place was the setting up of satellite CMS warehouses that were to be managed by District Health Management Teams to ensure a smooth distribution of drugs to health facilities. How come then that nearly a year later, we should still have reports of drug shortages that have apparently given rise to irresponsible thoughts of hiving off the task of distribution to the private sector. Very clearly, we are perturbed. Nay, we are petrified of the very thought of privatising what remains of the public health system when we have immense problems with the dual system under which the wealthy go to private health facilities. We want the very thought banished because the poor standards at public health facilities are not unrelated to the existence of this parallel system as the high and mighty in government are stakeholders of private facilities. In addition to other dangers, Botswana's health sector, including pharmaceuticals, is dominated by non-Batswana. Therein lies the potential route to corruption of and outright theft by health personnel eager to enrich themselves and their friends who run pharmacies. It is obvious that several practicing doctors have interests in several pharmacies operating around the country. In such an environment, the PS' hint at privatising distribution of drugs must have them smacking their lips at this invitation to refer patients to their friends. Let us not forget that Botswana Police Service is currently handling a number of cases in which employees of government health facilities were caught with boxes of ARVs destined for places across our borders. In addition to wholesale theft, if the outsourcing hinted at by the PS was implemented, more drugs would expire at CMS and hospitals while private pharmacies would grow richer by the day. Hence we urge MoH and CMS to instead employ and train more people in the specific area of the problem of drug procurement and distribution. Many government departments and parastatals have lost huge sums of funds due to skewed outsourcing that soon benefited only a few individuals while the majority of Batswana wallowed in poverty and ill-health.
