CAG report unveils 3.5bn/- expired stock of medicine

The Controller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed the existence of expired medicines worth 3.5bn/- that could endanger people’s health if reached to the market.

The CAG’s Annual General Report for Regional Administration and Local Government (LGA) FY 2021-22 submitted to the Parliament, Dodoma on Thursday establishes that the course of examination of registers on expired medical drugs, 16 dispensaries and health centres in local government authorities (LGAs) had stocked expired drugs and medical equipment valued at 976.58m/- which were not disposed-off.

The CAG’s audit report further established that 17 referral hospitals including Benjamin Mkapa Hospital, Ligula Regional Referral Hospital and Mbeya Regional Referral Hospital had stocked expired medical drugs and medical equipment valued of 2.24bn/-and had been stocked for periods ranging from three months to ten years and had not been disposed of as at the time of the audit.

“Storage of expired drugs might cause harm to the public if they are either used accidentally or land in the hands of unscrupulous individuals…I urge the respective LGAs to ensure the expired drugs are disposed off in accordance to the requirements of the laws,” he said

The report also establishes the existence of expired drugs in the Medical Store Department (MSD) before distribution with a value of 235.84m/-.

According to the report, expired drugs might have resulted from the procurement or receipt of medicines with a relatively short shelf life from MSD and lack of a systematic arrangement of stocks meant to ensure that drugs are issued on the first in, first out (Fifo) basis.