Minister of Health Peter Kumpalume has asked people of Dedza to take good care of medical drugs and other resources at the district hospital.
The minister said this on Friday when NBS Bank donated assorted medical equipment to the district hospital worth K5 million ($8,231.94).
“You know as a ministry, we are trying our best to improve the health sector in the country, but at the same time there are some people who are misusing resources, mostly medical drugs, by selling them outside [the country] and to some private hospitals, which is a setback to the ministry,” said Kumpalume.
from NBS Bank officials
He urged staff to be each other’s watchdog to put an end to drug pilferage and abuse of equipment.
Dedza District Council chairperson Ozious Chidovu said if people took ownership of government resources some of the problems could be avoided.
Dedza District has an estimated population of 735 411 people with 23 public health facilities and 11 Christian Health Association of Malawi (Cham) facilities.
Recently, there has been an increase in cases of drug theft in public hospitals, the latest being the case of hospital staff arrested at Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe and Chitipa District Hospital.—Malawi News Agency
