Address dire shortage of essential drugs in rural dispensaries urgently

A sickly rural population is unproductive and that is dangerous for the economy. [Courtesy]

In February, I was part of a team that was sent to Mt Elgon to survey for a medical camp that was to be held later in the year. We were tasked to find out the prevalent medical conditions in the area so that the right interventions could be prepared for the camp.

We visited three public dispensaries and the common complaint in all of them was lack of drugs. Drugs for common ailments such as pneumonia, malaria, hypertension, diabetes and skin conditions had not been delivered in months. There were basic antibiotics and pain killers but no injectables or eyecare medicine.