The National Drug Authority has closed 79 drug outlets and recovery of 183 boxes of assorted medicine in 22 districts that include Bushenyi, Kiruhura, Ntungamo, and Isingiro among others.
The recovered boxes according to Abiaz Rwamwiri the senior public relations manager at the National Drug Authority are worth 50 million shillings.
“We have been conducting a targeted enforcement operation in south western Uganda and we closed 79 drug outlets and recovered 183 boxes of assorted medicine worth 50 million shillings and in less than 8 months, drugs worth 2 billion shillings have been recovered that were stolen from government hospitals” Rwamwiri said.
Rwamwiri notes that closure of some of these drug outlets stems from lack of qualifications and necessary requirements among other improved premises gaps.
“We have closed them because of suspicion of drug theft like in Isingiro district where we recovered a box of drip water in someone’s house, with the increase of government drugs clearly marked NOT FOR SALE.” Rwamwiri said
“In the 22 districts the outlets have not complied because they either do not have the qualifications or the premises cannot be improved to meet the minimum standards” Rwamwiri added.
According to Mulindwa Matovu Kudra the NDA Inspector of drugs in south western Uganda who admits that “there is still noncompliance but as NDA we utilize regional offices and do sensitization in every district every year and involve the district leadership but our people are simply stubborn”
“It is after those engagements that if there is no compliance that we resort to forceful enforcement to manage the errant operators that have remained defiant to the regulations” Mulindwa said.