Insufficient storage blamed for Namibia’s medicine shortages

The Ministry of Health and Social Services has attributed the medicine shortage to a lack of adequate medicine storage facilities in the country.

This was said yesterday by health minister Esperance Luvindao during her motivation speech of the budget allocated to the ministry of over N$12 billion, representing about 4.4 % of the gross domestic product, 11.5% of total budget expenditure and 8.2% or N$927.4 million better than the previous year’s allocation.

She said there is enough medicine for the whole country but the lack of medicine centres to store them in has led to shortages.

To address this, Luvindao announced plans to construct more storage centres across the country to ensure adequate storage of essential medicines.

“We have the necessary essential medication centrally, however, due to limited spaces and storage, we are unable to accommodate this,” she said.
She said the ministry will develop a state-of-the-art medical centre to accommodate increased inventory and improve service levels.

Luvindao added that the goal is to upgrade the central medical stores’ logistics and storage capacity to an 80% service level, a significant increase from the current 57%.

“This will involve procuring a new central medical stores storage infrastructure, enhanced logistics systems, and robust inventory management,” she said.

She further revealed that all hospitals and 23 health centres have successfully installed network infrastructure, laying the foundation for Namibia’s e-health system.

Tenders were awarded to add infrastructure to 18 health centres and 30 clinics, while five health centres and 18 of the clinics are operational, ensuring patient records and health information can be accessed in real-time across a wide area.

However, Luvindao has requested for a further allocation of N$62 522 000 for refined health data and policy support, including detailed epidemiological analysis and research.

The ministry will prioritise the review of the National e-Health Strategy 2021-2025 to advance work on a TeleHealth Policy, which aims to improve access to essential healthcare services in rural areas by leveraging digital technologies.

Last week, the ministry blamed the reported anaesthetic shortages in hospitals, particularly at Rundu, on weak coordination with the medical centre stores.

The ministry has been facing challenges related to the storage and availability of essential pharmaceuticals and clinical supplies.

These shortages affect public health facilities across the country. While the ministry has addressed some specific shortages, challenges remain regarding general supply chain disruptions and the procurement process.

The ministry is currently improving its procurement process to ensure the timely supply of essential medicines. Hospitals are being urged to strengthen their own procurement systems and conduct regular medicine inventories.

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