Ministry, NACA to destroy N417m HIV, malaria drugs

The Federal Ministry of Health has concluded arrangements to destroy drugs worth N417m.

The products, with varying expiry dates, were purchased between 2011 and 2012, but were not distributed to hospitals and Primary Health Centres until they expired at the Federal Medical Stores, Oshodi, Lagos.

The drugs, said to have been procured by the FMH and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, include medications for HIV, tuberculosis and Malaria as well as antibiotics, children’s drugs and HIV test kits, among others.

They also include health products donated by the Clinton Foundation, which the ministry failed to share out to health facilities across the country because there was no budget provision for the distribution.

Our correspondent learnt that a committee set up to work out the modalities for the destruction of the drugs had concluded its assignment.

The committee members include Okibe Egbuta, chairman; Ishaya Arima, secretary; Ibrahim Kana, Egerue Emmanuel and Oloyede Adeola, members.

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According to the committee report, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, the value of the expired drugs procured by NACA as at October 2013 was put at N62,524,835.36, while that of the health ministry was valued at N327,262,490.29.

Drugs bought under the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme earmarked for destruction were estimated at N27,088,960.

The value of the drugs procured through the Clinton Foundation, but which would be destroyed, was put at N197, 497.50.

Sources told our correspondent that apart from failing to distribute the products, the health ministry and NACA had also engaged in procurement of drugs that were not needed.

A source said, “Irrational procurement is responsible for the huge expenses on the drugs which are to be destroyed now. There was no plan for distribution of the drugs to hospitals and no mechanism for monitoring.

“It is mind-boggling that when many public hospitals do not have enough drugs to meet patients’ needs, the health ministry and NACA want to destroy N417m drugs that were allowed to expire on the shelves, how unfortunate?”

Findings showed that some of the drugs were purchased when Louis Awite and Mrs. Fatima Bamidele were the Permanent Secretary in the Health ministry.

Our correspondent learnt that certain amount had been budgeted for the destruction, which would be overseen by the Department of Food and Drugs, Ministry of Health, in conjunction with the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control.

The Information Officer, Ministry of Health, Imaobong Udoh, said he was not aware of the plan to destroy the drugs.

He referred our correspondent to the Director of Press, Mrs. Ayo Adesugba, who could not be reached on the phone as calls made to her line indicated that it was not available.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, NACA, Mrs. Toyin Aderibigbe, responded through a text message that she would investigate the scheduled destruction and get back to our correspondent, but she had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.