Kathmandu, December 27

Free essential medicines are not supplied on time and are not enough to meet the demand, says a study.

According to a report ‘The Policies and Practices of the Government of Nepal

on Free Distribution of Medicine, 2016’ recently released by Transparency International Nepal, distribution of free medicines to patients through health institutions was a rewarding and challenging initiative.

The number of essential medicines provided free of cost has expanded significantly from 40 to 70 since the fiscal 2014/15. However, it faces some serious challenges that demand attention of senior government officials, local bodies, and community-based organisations and health personnel.

Major factors to be considered in making this programme more effective include improvements in budget management, building capacity for procurement of medicines for health institutions across the country, strengthening supervision and monitoring systems, ensuring fair distribution of  medicines, and supplying medicines to health institutions located in remote locations and people living far away from the district headquarters, read the report.

During the survey, respondents said medicines were not received as per the demand and needs of people and medicines made available were found to be close to expiry dates. “Health institutions distribute low quality medicines that are not effective, while medicines purchased from the market are found to be effective. Many beneficiaries are not aware of the expiry date of medicines,” read the report.

Similarly, the report recommends that the government increase its budget allocation for free medicines considering the fact that the number of free essential medicines was increased by 75 per cent (40 to 70) since the fiscal 2014/15.

“The Ministry of Health should develop a standard operating procedure to ensure that the program is implemented in a fair and consistent manner all over the country and to avoid any discrepancies in its governance, and establish and strengthen the monitoring system to maintain strong control over the distribution of medicines,” it suggested, adding district health offices should ensure that free medicines are properly labeled ‘free distribution from the Government of Nepal’ as stated in the guidelines.