Drug theft syndicate exposed at local hospitals

Source: Drug theft syndicate exposed at local hospitals | The Sunday News

Robin Muchetu/ Michelle Musandinyoze, Health Reporters

A WELL-ORGANISED syndicate of hospital workers has been implicated in the theft and sale of medicines destined for public health facilities with reports indicating that nurses and doctors are illegally procuring drugs from Zambia to sell to desperate patients.

The diversion of drugs from hospitals across Zimbabwe involves various levels of staff, from low-ranking workers to senior officials, including doctors and pharmacy technicians.

The rampant theft has contributed to an alarming rise in drug and substance abuse in Zimbabwe, as health workers are reportedly supplying addictive medications to street peddlers.

The findings were disclosed in a recent report by Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) as part of the Inclusive Service Delivery in Africa (ISDA) project, which followed up on a previous corruption risk assessment conducted in 2020.

“According to key informants at public health facilities, the individuals involved in this corruption include clinicians, general hands and pharmacy technicians. The main drivers of corruption at these facilities are low salaries, poor medicine stock management practices and a high demand for medicines in the face of limited supply. While medicine stock is managed electronically at the national and district levels, facilities rely on paper-based systems that are less effective,” the report states.

At higher administrative levels, qualified personnel manage medicines with greater accountability. However, in public health facilities, the absence of dedicated pharmacy staff and infrequent stock audits compromises integrity, exacerbated by staff resignations in search of better opportunities.

Some informants described corruption at these facilities as minor and frequent.
However, TIZ emphasised that while the corruption may appear petty, it is widespread and common, severely affecting access to medicines for women, children and vulnerable populations.

The actors at the procurement level encompass procurement officers and programme managers, with corruption driven by weak governance and ineffective implementation of procurement standards. The report indicated that emergencies often lead to deviations from standard protocols, increasing opportunities for corruption.

Street medicine vendors confirmed the illicit diversion of medicines from public health facilities. They obtain supplies not only from Zambia but also from health workers who deliver drugs directly to them, sometimes using intermediaries to conceal their identities. “The street vendors are aware that the medicines they receive are illegally diverted from public health inventories. Some local pharmacies reportedly procure medicines from them as well. The types of medicines commonly found on the streets include prescription preparations such as antimicrobials (antibacterials, antifungals, antivirals), analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antihistamines and short-acting contraceptives,” the report further reveals.

The investigation found that while street vendors acknowledged the negative consequences of medicine diversion on vulnerable populations, they expressed a reluctance to change their practices, as this is their only source of income.

“Vendors voiced concerns about the impact of psychotropic medicines like benzodiazepines on youth, noting that some of these medications are diverted from the public health system,” the report stated.

Vendors remain alert to regulatory authorities such as the police and municipal enforcement, often facing arrest but being released after paying bribes ranging from US$2 to US$5. Those caught with larger quantities may face court prosecution.

The demand for psychotropic drugs such as Diazepam is particularly high among young people, with health workers reportedly complicit in supplying these medications. Street vendors mentioned that many lack medical training, leaving them unaware of the drugs’ indications or potential side effects.

One key informant alleged that some officials at the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council hoard contraceptives when supplies dwindle, selling them to the parallel market, including street vendors.

In Epworth, Harare, while pharmacies ran out of stock, some street vendors were found to be well-stocked with cartons of contraceptives.

TIZ’s investigations revealed that nurses in clinics are illicitly importing medicines from Zambia and diverting them from the public health sector for sale. Some doctors have been found storing injectables like ceftriaxone, an antibiotic, in their offices without adhering to proper authorisation protocols mandated by the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe.

“According to one patient, some nurses at Sally Mugabe Hospital’s psychiatric unit were selling medicines that should have been provided free of charge.”

Recently, the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) banned several individuals involved in supplying drugs for various offenses and revoked licences for pharmacies violating regulations, with suspensions in some cases set to last until July 2027 for non-compliant offenders.

Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care Mr Sleiman Kwidini said the Ministry is making efforts to curb the rampant corruption that is going on in health institutions in Zimbabwe. He said they are committed to making sure that no health official gets away with stealing from the public.

“It’s a long process where we want to make sure that there are no leakages in the health system. We want to ensure that everything that comes into stock comes out in the correct manner. We want to ensure that the medication that a patient is given is recorded and accounted for from the time they are admitted until they are out. We want to see what medication they are given that whole time,” he said.

He said the days of getting medicines with little accountability will soon be over.

“The days of getting medicines without proper dispensing are over. The person dispensing must be accountable, we are putting a stop to people going to a hospital pharmacy and getting medicines and going away without proper documentation.

“We are going to use the bar code system, where all dispensed drugs will have a barcode where they are automatically entered in the system,” he added.

He said the Government will start dispensing medicines via Natpharm even with private players.

“What we are planning is that Natpharm sells and distributes drugs to both the private and public sector pharmacies which is going to stop counterfeits from making their way into the country. They will have their own barcodes and batch numbers for the private sector and others for the public sector and Natpharm will be monitoring them,” he added.

The deputy minister said they are taking serious action against anyone caught stealing drugs.

“If we have enough evidence against people stealing drugs we will dismiss them immediately. We cannot have people depriving others of what is due to them,” he said