Online Reporter
Vusumuzi Dube, Deputy Radar Editor
THE Bulawayo City Council’s pricing of medicines, which exceeds the market average has led to the expiry of some as patients avoid buying from the local authority and opt for cheaper alternatives.
As a result, the local authority has been left with no choice but to either dispose of the medications or distribute them for free.
This was revealed in the latest council report of the Finance and Development Committee, where the Director of Health Services, Dr Edwin Mzingwane noted that the department was faced with a challenge of low consumption rates for some medicine commodities, mainly attributed to selling prices being above the market average.
According to the report, the local authority is receiving the bulk of its medicines through donations but they then go on to sell it at prices above the market average, which then leads to patients preferring to buying from private pharmacies.
“This had led to an increased risk of stock expiries. Several essential medicines and commodities have expired and some were nearing expiry due to low consumption. On average, internal selling prices were higher than the going market rate, discouraging purchases at Bulawayo city clinic facilities and slow-moving stock increased the risk of expiries, leading to potential wastage.
“Risks of allowing stocks to reach their expiration dates were numerous. Expired medicines represented a direct loss of investment and the safe disposal of expired pharmaceuticals incurred additional expenses,” reads the council report.
The local authority further noted that some of these additional costs include the transportation to certified disposal facilities, incineration or hazardous waste treatment fees and compliance with environmental and health regulations.
Excessive expiries might reflect poorly on the department’s inventory management efficiency.”
As part of the suggested interventions, the local authority has mooted the reduction of the prices of their medicines as well as partnering public hospitals in distributing some of the medications, which are nearing their expiry date.
“To improve consumption of available commodities, the following strategies were recommended:
Adjusting City of Bulawayo pharmacy medicine prices to match market rates, allow City of Bulawayo health facilities to dispense all medicines that were nearing expiry (less than three months) for free.
“The local authority also recommends partnering with public hospitals in Bulawayo to donate near-expiry, but still safe, medicines like Diclofenac injections. Hospitals had bigger catchments and were able to consume larger volumes. This strategy would result in a reduction of wastage and disposal costs,” reads the report.
In the ensuing debate councilors raised concern that while receiving the medicines as donations, the local authority then goes on to sell them at a higher price in council clinics.
The councilors unanimously agreed that the local authority donates the medicines to public hospitals.
In 2023, the local authority announced its intentions to introduce pharmacies at six of its clinics, aligning with the Government’s efforts to offer affordable medication.
The new pharmacies were earmarked to be established at the Luveve, Njube, Pelandaba, Emakhandeni, Maqhawe (Nkulumane 12) and E F Watson clinics.
Sidumisile Mabena