Front PageNational News

CMST destroys inherited expired drugs

Central Medical Stores Trust (CMST) yesterday finalised disposal of expired supplies and drugs it inherited from its forerunner, Central Medical Stores (CMS).

In an interview with The Nation, CMST director of pharmaceutical operations Dr Moses Chisale confirmed the exercise but was quick to add that the affected drugs and medical supplies were purchased or donated in 2007 before CMS turned into a trust in 2010.

Up in flames: The expired drugs and medical supplies during the destruction in Blantyre yesterday
Up in flames: The expired drugs and medical supplies during the
destruction in Blantyre yesterday

CMST is a public agency that oversees procurement, storage and distribution of medical supplies.

The drugs that have been boarded off expired between 2007 and January 31 2014, he said.

Chisale said expired medicines have no value. However, he said at the time of purchase or the last time the medicines were last usable, their monetary value was K300 million.

Said Chisale: “Note that the calculations will vary according to the specific time each item expired. [Also] note that it would be wrong to compute value of items that expired a long time ago by using today’s kwacha: dollar conversion terms or values.”

The drugs expired at a time most of the country’s public hospitals reported shortages in their pharmacies.

However, Chisale explained that the destroyed drugs are different from those in short supply as most of it was declared unfit.

He also said most of the destroyed medicines were either received as donations or bought before the trust was established.

He said: “No medicines and medical supplies bought after becoming a trust have been boarded off due to expiry. If at all there have been any destroyed, it has been a negligible amount boarded off due to accidental physical damage along the process of storage or distribution.”

Reacting to CMST’s action to dispose of drugs, Malawi Health Equity Network (Mhen) executive director Martha Kwataine blamed the large quantities of expired drugs and supplies on donations which, she observed, usually have a short shelf life.

Said Kwataine: “The problem we have is that many of the drugs that come to Malawi as donations usually have a short shelf life, often less than a year. In some cases, even with only six months to go. The multinationals have a tendency of using poor countries such as Malawi as a dumping site.

“Of course, government does receive donations to fill a certain gap, but sometimes the drugs would be more than the country needs and their shelf life expires before all the quantities have been consumed.”

The CMST report that The Nation has seen shows the list of the expired drugs and medical supplies as comprising donations from the Global Fund and some bought by the trust’s predecessor.

The boarding off exercise started two weeks ago in Lilongwe before moving to Mzuzu last week and Blantyre yesterday.

CMST said the disposal would help create space in its warehouses besides protecting people from a potential health hazard created by expired drugs and medical supplies.

In February 2015, CMST says it had a drug and medical supplies stock position of 82 percent based on the National Must-have List and 42 percent based on the general average.

 

Related Articles

Back to top button