The purchasing, storage and distribution of essential medicines throughout Fiji are being handled by a computer system which was installed in 2003 and has never been upgraded.
Health Minister Rosy Akbar made this revelation in Parliament today adding that the company that supplied the system has not supported it for the past nine years.
She says the computer system is so old that it is no longer fit for purpose and staff are forced to adopt manual approaches for many key tasks.
Akbar says these processes are slow and prone to errors.
Akbar says to counter the persistent problem of shortages and stock-out of medicines, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services recently obtained support from the Australian Government to appoint an expert in health supply chain management to review the current system and provide a plan for its improvement.
The Health Minister says she received this plan last week and it provides a clear basis on which they can begin to build a better system.
Meanwhile, Akbar has stressed that people must realize that Fiji is a small remote island nation and it takes months for deliveries of medicines to reach our shores.
She says at times the manufacturers and wholesalers’ stocks are low and they may give priority to orders placed by larger and wealthier countries.
The Health Minister has also highlighted that they cannot go and buy medicine from just any manufacturer.
While responding to Akbar’s statement, SODELPA parliamentarian Anare Vadei said the medicine procurement process and the free medicine scheme are failures.
He says according to the Consumer Council of Fiji, people are always complaining about medicine unavailability and shortage in health centres and hospitals around Fiji.
On the other hand, NFP’s Pramod Chand says the government is paying lip service to the fundamental issue of providing basic health care to Fiji’s citizens.
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