No shortage of medicines, guarantees Health Minister

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No shortage of medicines, guarantees Health Minister

12:40 CAT | 23 Nov 2018

File photo: O País

Mozambican Health Minister Nazira Abdula on Thursday guaranteed that the country possesses stocks of all the essential medicines to treat the main diseases that threaten its citizens.

Speaking in the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, during a question and answer session between the deputies and members of the government, Abdula denied claims by the main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo, of “a lack of medicines, and vaccines”.

She said the medicines are available and are sent in kits to the health units, with each kit containing medicines for about 1,000 patients. At all levels of the system, the Health Ministry, she said, “has guided liaison with the community, through setting up medicine management committees (handling the reception of medicines, denouncing bad practices, and combating the illegal sale of medicines”.

All equipment for surgery was available, and so far this year 29,000 major surgical interventions have been carried out, thus proving that the hospitals have enough material.

Abdula said that between January and September 107 complaints against health workers were received and investigated. The offences committed included illicit charges, theft of medicines, unjustified delays, and poor patient care. Disciplinary proceedings were initiated against 155 health workers, leading to penalties ranging from public reprimands to expulsion from the health service. Criminal proceedings were begun against two workers, and eight cases were sent to the Attorney-General’s Office.

She added that the Health Inspectorate visited 145 private pharmacies in the first nine months of the year, and found that the number of pharmacies selling medicines that have been stolen from the National Health Service is tending to decline. But cases still exist – four pharmacies in Maputo were fined for selling medicines that are clearly labelled as for the exclusive use of the Health Ministry.

Abdula added that her Ministry is concerned that pharmacies are still freely selling drugs that should be available only on prescription, particularly antibiotics. Improper use of these drugs leads to antibiotic resistance.

The Minister revealed that the police had raided 22 informal markets in six provinces, where they had arrested 49 people, including four health workers, who were illegally selling pharmaceutical products.

Renamo was particularly concerned at an alleged shortage of anti-rabies vaccine. Abdula said that in reality the vaccine is available in all provincial and district capitals and in all central and provincial hospitals. In addition, there are 2,333 doses of the vaccine in stock in the central medical stores and a further 24,285 doses are due to arrive in early 2019.

Abdula told AIM that there were about 70 deaths from rabies last year, and 50 so far this year. In the vast majority of cases, the victims were bitten by stray dogs. There were 15,279 cases of animal bites reported so far this year (but in most cases the animals were not rabid).

Abdula said the main responsibility lies with the municipal councils and district administrations who should round up and destroy stray dogs.

The Minister also categorically denied claims of a shortage of anti-malarial drugs. There were about eight million cases of malaria diagnosed this year, and they all received treatment. “There are anti-malarial drugs and diagnostic tests available for all patients”, she said. “There are 11.5 million doses of anti-malarials in stock”.

But prevention was better than cure, Abdula declared, stressing the importance of sleeping under mosquito nets, and of removing the pools of stagnant water where mosquitoes breed.

Education Minister Conceita Sortane promised that no teachers would be thrown out of their jobs because of the reorganisation of the National Education System envisaged under a law passed by the Assembly earlier this month.

Deputies of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) had claimed that “thousands” of teachers would lose their jobs because the subjects they teach would be eliminated from some grades.

Sortane replied that when implementing the new law, her Ministry will make a survey of teachers and ensure that they are all deployed in accordance with their level of qualifications.

The new system cuts primary education from seven to six grades, and seventh grade becomes the first year of secondary education. Teachers with a university degree who had been teaching in primary education will simply be moved into secondary schools.

“There will be training and requalification of teachers, raising their academic level”, said Sortane. “No teacher training colleges will be closed. Everything will be readjusted in line with the new law”.

She pointed out that there had been two earlier reorganisations of the education system, in 1983 and 1992, and no teachers were thrown out of their jobs then either.

Source: AIM