Health facilities in Moyo District grappling with stock out of HIV test kits and ARVS drugs.

By Tasia Doreen

Moyo

The stock out of HIV test Kits in the district has forced the health facilities to carry out re-distributions among themselves as an alternative to manage the situation in the meantime. This is a general problem in the facilities in the district i.e., the general hospital; and the lower health facilities at sub county levels.
However, Health workers in the district have allied fears of increase in new cases of HIV infections following the stock out of HIV test kits. This was revealed in a stakeholder’s inception meeting on building a resilient treatment literate community of people living with HIV held on the 20/03/2023 at district health office resource center.

According to Angupi Charles the in charge lefori health center 3 his facility is only left with 30 tests strips  sighting an increase in HIV infections if nothing is done to arrest the current situation facing the facilities. It was also noted by the health workers that the stock out is as a result of national medical stores’ failure to deliver consignment for three quarters in the district. Whereas Anika Eddie the in charge art clinic moyo general hospital noted that besides the stock out of the test kits there is also a stock out of ARV drugs in the district adding that the facilities are relying on re-distribution among the facilities.
Mawadri Robert the in charge ART clinic laropi health center iii who represented the office of DHO in the meeting remarked that NMS has continued to delivery HIV kits and drugs very late which poses new born babies to the risk of contracting the disease during delivery especially now that most  the niferapide syrup for the babies are expired. Whereas Patrick olwa IDI community linkage officer said that there is need for the district leaders to follow up on the issue of NMS not supplying drugs in the region.

Recently national medical stores on the daily monitor blamed the finance ministry for delays in payment of the funds for the distribution as the NMS spokesperson Sheila Nduhukire was coated saying   “the delays in the distribution of medicines … have largely been as a result of lack of timely payment of funds for distribution.” “These issues have been brought to the attention of the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and Ministry of Health,” she said, adding, “We are confident that they will be resolved soon so that we can deliver the medicines as we have always done before.”
The meeting was organized by national forum of people living with HIV and aids networks in Uganda and MAHA.