Drugs pilferage in Eastern Province worries Kasolo
By Staff Reporter
Eastern Province permanent secretary Chanda Kasolo has expressed concern over drug pilferage in the province.
Speaking in Chipata during the 2017 Provincial Health 3rd Quarter Integrated Technical Review meeting, Kasolo said it was criminal to engage in pilferage of drugs meant for distribution in Public Health facilities.
He urged the Health Sector to strengthen its internal controls to ensure the safe storage and management of medicines and other medical supplies.
Kasolo, however commended the health sector in the province for recording improvements in infrastructure development and implementation of malaria control measures despite the disease still remaining the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the country.
He added that government had prioritized malaria control efforts because its aim was to eliminate malaria by 2021.
The Permanent Secretary urged stakeholders to use the review meetings to assess ways of addressing the various challenges being faced in the province, among them insufficient blood availability, limited human resource and maternal deaths which was at 92 in 2016 and 72 so far this year.
Kasolo revealed that the health sector in the province had so far received tremendous support from cooperating partners with a total sum of K65 million from various partners.
