PHASOM WANTS DRUGS BUDGE UP

The Pharmaceutical Association of Malawi (Phasom) says the National Assembly should keenly revise the budget for drugs under the Ministry of Health budget allocation pegged at K283.57 billion in the 2022/23 national budget.

In a statement released yesterday, Phasom argues that despite positive increment to the health sector budget, the allocation to drugs has been dwindling to the fact that most district hospitals run out of essential drugs 2 to 3 months before the end of a financial year.

“It is disheartening that some hospitals run out of drugs in the sixth or seventh month and this is a very negative development considering that we are in the Covid-19 situation and the new polio variant that has just been reported, we needed more resources to the drugs allocation,” reads the statement signed by the chairperson William Mpute and Secretary Jeremiah Kabaghe.

The statement further says despite the upward allocation to the health sector, Malawi does not meet the Abuja declaration which says that 15 percent of the National budget should be allocated to the health sector.

According to Phasom, in 2019/20 National budget, the health sector was allocated K101 billion representing 9.4 percent and the drug allocation was K25.9 billion represenring 25.6 percent.

In 2020/21, the sector received K195.3 billion representing 9.7 percent of the National budget and the drug allocation was K28 billion represenring 14.4 percent while in 2021/22 National budget, the sector got K187 billion representing 9.8 percent of the total budget but the drug allocation was K20 billion representing 10.7 percent of the health budget.

In the current budget, the health sector has been allocated K283.57 billion representing 10 percent of the total budget and K27.7 billion has been allocated to drugs representing 9.8 percent of the health sector budget.