IPNEWS: At least 90% of pharmacies sold in Liberia are stolen medicines donated by aid organizations, the US Agency for International Development (USAid) has revealed.
USAid Mission Director Jim Wright at the weekend said such “acts of fraud” prevented Liberians from receiving donated essential medicines.
“That is unacceptable. That means that medicine is only available to patients that have enough money to buy them,” Mr Wright said.
Following the revelation, six Liberian civil groups have launched a national media campaign aimed at monitoring the distribution of aid medical supplies and raising awareness that donated medicines are free and should not be sold.
Mr Wright called for increased accountability, including the prosecution of those guilty of stealing and selling donated health supplies.
Mr. Wright termed the campaign launch as a pivotal moment in their collective efforts to address a critical issue affecting every Liberian’s health and well-being.
He used the occasion to thank the government, urging the need to recognize the tremendous efforts of Liberian healthcare workers.
Mr. Wright acknowledged the invaluable work of community health assistants in Liberia, adding that they play a crucial role in detecting and treating diseases like malaria. They contributed to Liberia’s success in cutting childhood malaria cases in half, with support from the U.S.
Mr. Wright indicated that in the president’s Malaria Initiative last year, life-saving medicines and other medical supplies worth 14 million US dollars were donated to the people of Liberia by the (USAID) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
He pointed out that those essential health products significantly reduce preventable deaths.
The USAID envoy expressed conviction that the Government of Liberia will also benefit from constructive partnerships with the Coalition, citing the example of Liberia’s National Public Health Initiative.
“To make a meaningful and sustainable impact on reducing fraud, the Government of Liberia must also assume more responsibility for ensuring accountability,” he said.
He added that the recent indictment of former Margibi County Health Team members and other complicit parties for corruption is a step in the right direction.
Mr. Wright stated that the next important step that the government should embark on is prosecution, and if the accused are found guilty, they must be punished by the law.
IPNEWS understand that the Liberian government is to shortly issue a statement on this latest statement by the USAid Mission Director Jim Wright.
Research conducted by the authoritative Independent Probe Newspaper, says several public health facilities in Liberia are experiencing the lack of essential drugs and medical supplies.
In 2023, former U.S. Ambassador, Michael A. McCarthy, reported from a nationwide assessment visit across Liberia that multiple county hospitals did not received not one penny of what they were promised in the 2022 budget.
Ambassador McCarthy said Hospitals on which lives depend, where outbreaks are prevented and suffering did not receive any portion of the US$100,000 or more appropriated by the legislature for them to operate.
“For one town, administrators look with anticipation mixed with fear at the brand-new, modern hospital that sits vacant, knowing that they can barely keep the existing makeshift facility going, and running the new one will require ten times the resources. The United States Government is about to spend a total of over US$40 million constructing Liberia’s state-of-the-art National Reference Laboratory (NRL) that, when completed, will require US$3 million to US$4 million a year from the Government of Liberia to operate. If the Government is failing to deliver statutory appropriations of only US$100,000 to existing hospitals, why would we ever trust annual pledges of US$3 million for the future NRL?” , Ambassador McCarthy stated.
In the same 2023, the Ministry of Health in Liberia was rocked by reports of imminent closure of several government hospitals due to lack of drugs and shortage of petroleum supplies, prompting Lawmakers on Capitol Hill to summoned former Minister of Health and principal deputies to appear before plenary to give reasons.
In separate communications from members of the House, complained that the situation of essential drugs, is having an adverse impact on citizens of the 15 counties and it was time plenary intervenes to stop it from degenerating.
“Colleagues, there is no time appropriate than now in finding lasting remedy to the health care issues faced by our country. Hence, I want to beseech this august body to invite the Minister of Health and principal deputies to appear before this plenary and give the status of the public health sector in the country relative to the alleged shortage of essential medical drugs and logistical supplies to public health facilities,” writes Rep. Ivar K. Jones.
The Ministry of Health under the leadership of former Health Minister Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah, swiftly responded that insinuations that some government’s run hospitals were nearing closure due to the shortage of drugs and other medical supplies were underly exaggerated, stating that the situation was not as grave to warrant closure as being portrayed.
