Drugs valued at P8m expire every year

The Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Health, Dr Kolaatamo Malefho, disclosed this at a senior management meeting hosted by the Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) here. Malefho said this was a costly problem because drugs ended up being disposed of without having served their purpose. The situation was the result of health institutions overestimating the quantities of the drugs they would need in a year.

"Our orders were made based on the estimation of required quantities in a year," Malefho said. "Some institutions overestimate in order to avoid shortages."