Dear Editor,
Many people go to the Medical Centre and hospitals in Region 2 hoping that medication, some of it basic, would be readily available. Based on the experiences related by people some of the medication they have to do without, and on many occasions they have to buy it.
Lots of money has been provided by the government to buy drugs. This is evident from the last budget and also this budget. For this last budget alone $600 million has been provided for medical equipment while $2.2 billion is provided for drugs and medical supplies. Of course the drugs given to the region do not disappear into thin air.
There is an urgent need to check on the distribution from the central areas with the supplies to the distribution centres on the Coast. A lot of drugs are given to our major hospitals. To whom is it given and by whom? Is there transparency and accountability?
Rumours from the past would tell how drugs are sold from a special car. It is said that this still goes on at the moment. The time is right now for government to act and get rid of these persons who steal to make a living, in the process harming people, especially the poor.
Region 2 is a PPP Region, and many of the personnel, including managerial ones are their supporters. When they do not perform well with regard to their list of duties and allow corruption, they fail the people and the government. The latter always, with limited resources, tries to satisfy the needs of the people.
Yours faithfully,
Nazir Mohamed
AFC Region 2
