The Ministry of Health has launched urgent measures to address critical shortages of essential medicines and medical supplies in public health facilities. Minister Dr Stephen Modise outlined these steps in a statement to Parliament yesterday.
Dr Modise said the ministry plans to engage the Minister of Finance and the Vice President for immediate fiscal interventions. This includes reallocating funds from non-life-saving areas to critical healthcare services.
The ministry will also seek emergency support from external partners and funders. Discussions will focus on accessing procurement platforms like UNICEF and the Global Drug Facility to buy medicines at lower costs.
Dr Modise appealed to Parliament and the public for patience and trust while the ministry works to restore the healthcare system’s full functionality. He emphasized ongoing efforts to improve financial management, clear outstanding payments, and strengthen supply chains.
“We are working round the clock to improve financial management, secure outstanding payments and strengthen supply chain resilience, this will definitely come to pass,” Dr Modise said.
These actions aim to stabilise medicine availability and ensure public health facilities can deliver critical services without interruption.
