Swaziland’s health crisis
has deepened as the kingdom’s main supplier of medicines has run out of stock
because the government has not paid its bills.
Among drugs in short supply
are those to treat HIV and cancers.
Swazipharm
has written to all its clients saying it could not buy new stocks because the
Ministry of Health had not paid its bill, the Times of
Swaziland reported on Friday (6 July 2018).
Swazipharm describes itself as, ‘Swaziland’s largest distributor of
pharmaceutical products and medical equipment to the healthcare system of
Swaziland, including government hospitals, private hospitals, local government,
clinics, humanitarian organisations, private organisations, missionaries,
pharmacies and chemists.’
Swazipharm
said it had only about two weeks of supplies left and was talking to the
Ministry to try to get payment.
The Times reported, ‘Most pharmacies and hospitals revealed that they
feared that the issues would not be sorted anytime soon and patients seeking
such services would be greatly affected.’
Swazipharm Sales and
Marketing Manager Cindy Stankoczi confirmed it had cut the supply of drugs to
local health institutions.
The Times added, ‘Ministry of Health Director, Dr Vusi Magagula, who
did not confirm or deny that his ministry owed the company, refused to comment
and said he was not in a position to do so as it was a sensitive and private
matter between the company and the finance department.’
Long before Swazipharm’s announcement medicines, including vaccines against polio and tuberculosis had run out in many government hospitals and
clinics because drug suppliers had not been paid. In June 2017, Senator Prince
Kekela told parliament that at least
five people had died as a result of the drug shortages. About US$18
million was reportedly owed
to drug companies in May 2017.
In his budget
speech in March 2018 Finance
Minister Martin Dlamini said Government owed E3.1bn (US$230 million) in total to
its suppliers for goods and services.
In June it was reported
that children
collapsed with hunger in their school because the government had not
paid for food for them. The kingdom had previously been warned to expect
children to starve because the government had not paid its suppliers
for the food that is distributed free of charge at schools. The shortage was
reported to be widespread across the kingdom.
Meanwhile, King Mswati III
who rules Swaziland as one of the world’s last absolute monarchs wore
a watch
worth US$1.6 million and a suit
beaded with diamonds weighing 6 kg, at his 50th birthday
party in April. Days earlier he took delivery of his second private jet, a A340
Airbus, that after VIP upgrades
reportedly cost US$30 million. He received E15 million (US$1.2
million) in cheques, a
gold dining room suite and a gold
lounge suite among his birthday gifts.
Seven in ten of Swaziland’s
1.1 million population live in abject poverty with incomes less than the
equivalent of US$2 per day. King Mswati has 13 palaces, two private jets and
fleets of top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars.
See also
ONLY 12 GOVT AMBULANCES IN WHOLE KINGDOM
SWAZILAND
ADMITS IT IS BROKE
KING
EATS OFF GOLD, CHILDREN STARVING
MEDICINE SHORTAGE: FIVE DIE
DRUG SHORTAGE CRISIS DEEPENS
SWAZI
GOVT ‘KILLING ITS OWN PEOPLE’
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