Unity of purpose key to solving medicines and staff shortages

Eugenia Madhidha
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

FOR a place to be deemed a health facility, there are things that are considered to be necessities such as human resources and medicinal drugs, among many others. However, we find so many health facilities in this country failing to meet these standards thereby being reduced to nothing but white elephants.
Recently, it was reported that Dar es Salaam municipal hospitals are facing serious shortages of medicines and medical staff such as nurses and doctors, something that cripples the operations of these health facilities, aggravating the suffering of the general public as they fail to provide quality services to patients.

The most saddening thing is that they continue singing the old song, blaming it on financial constraints as the major root of the problems.

According to the reports, Mwananyamala Municipal Hospital Medical Officer-In-Charge Zuhura Majapa, said that the hospital is currently facing shortage of doctors, nurses and they do not have sufficient medicines. On the other hand, the Amana Municipal Hospital Medical Officer-In-Charge told the media that the hospital is also facing shortage of doctors and nurses and the available specialists cannot efficiently serve the increasing number of patient.

The situation at these two major hospitals in Dar es Salaam, is a cancer affecting many other health facilities throughout the country. The problem of medicinal drugs shortages has been a cause for concern especially for many poor rural dwellers who cannot afford to buy them from pharmacies or those who live in remote areas where pharmacies are either too far away or nonexistent.

It is important to note that medicines are a vital component in a human’s body as they restore human health. Though they can be traced as far back as humanity, they go a long way in saving lives in a world full of dreaded diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, malaria and cholera and so on. It is unfortunate, however, that despite the existence of these medicines many people, especially in Tanzania succumb to diseases because of acute shortages of drugs.
The shortage of medicinal drugs has been prevailing for eons now and, with the look of things, no permanent solution is in sight for the problem as blame game is the order of the day. It is unfortunate that many citizens think that medical practitioners are to blame for the non availability of medicines at health centers. For example a Sikika (NGO that deals with health issues) volunteer who identified himself as Redemptus came across some patients who were complaining about the non availability of medicines at Kafuma health facility and he had to help the doctor-in-charge to explain to angry patients the procedures and steps taken until medicines are delivered to health facilities.
In most cases, when confronted by patients who will be eager to know the reasons for the shortages, medical practitioners shift the blame on the MSD for not supplying the medicines while on the other hand the MSD blames both the government, for owing them money, a move that cripples their operations and the medical practitioners in health centers for misusing the medicines by selling them in private pharmacies.
On the other hand, the government blames both the MSD and health officials for the problem. The blame game is in most cases counterproductive as the root cause of the problem remains unaddressed.
Citizens, therefore, should not be vilified when they complain about the problems they come across whenever they visit health facilities. It remains true that some have lost trust in these health centres as they are either forced to spend long hours waiting to be served because of lack of medical staff or are forced to fork out their hard earned cash to buy medicines from pharmacies. This seems to have cultivated a dangerous practice where some people don't seek medical treatment, hoping that the diseases will complete their cycle and they will be healed naturally.
According to the speech by the Minister for Health and Social Welfare when he was presenting ministry budget for FY 2010/11 in the parliament on 28th June 2010 an amount of Tsh 61.6 billion was allocated for buying of drugs and supplies( vifatiba na vitendanishi katika Zahanati, vituo vya afya na hospitali za umma) and Tsh 287 billion for buying and distribution of HIV and malaria drugs around the country . But, what is surprising is that health facilities throughout the country continue facing medicinal drugs shortages despite a huge amount being reserved to address the problem.
And, with the look of things, it seems no solution is in sight for the problem and this disadvantages the ordinary person on the street. It is, therefore, important to note that it remains the responsibility of the MSD, government and the medical practitioners to make sure that medicines reach the intended target. This, however, can only be done if each one of these responsible authorities do their job diligently and stop pointing fingers at each other.
On the other hand, it is important for the powers that be to address the perennial shortage of medical staff. Much noise has been made about it while less action seems to have been taken to address it.
This, therefore, means that there is need for concerted effort to end these social anomalies to not only make life easier for ordinary citizens but also save lives.
Ends