KABAROLE DISTRICT RESOLVES TO CRACK DOWN ILLEGAL DRUG SHOPS

Drug shop operators in Kabarole District have been put in the spotlight. This follows a revelation that their shops are being used as outlets for medicines suspected to be stolen from government health centres. This revelation was made by the Assistant Health Inspector of Ruteete Sub County (NAME) at a public dialogue meeting at Gardens Restaurant in Fort Portal Municipality that was organized by Rwenzori Consortium for Civic Competence.


The dialogue meeting was held to discuss the findings of the monitoring exercise conducted by Integrated Women Development Programme and the community based monitors. At this meeting the health Inspector revealed that he had exposed and led to the arrest of one drug shop operator in Kasenda Sub County who was found selling government labeled drugs in his shop. When the said drug shop operator was searched he was found to have a license with names different from those on the operating permit issued by the Sub County Authority. Mr. ----, the Health Inspector, revealed that when Mr.------, the drug shop operator was interrogated about his source of the government drugs, he revealed that he buys them from ‘patients’ who pick them from the public health centres.
Medical workers participating in the dialogue revealed that as soon as the health centres receive medical consignments many community members fake sicknesses and come for treatment. However, most of the health centres lack laboratory services that would aid the medical workers to carry out proper examination and so they have to base their diagnosis on the patient’s history, which in most cases is inaccurate. The medical workers also revealed that according to their professional conduct they cannot deny a patient medical attention. Therefore, they end up dispensing drugs even to people who may not actually be sick. Some of these people, it was revealed keep the drugs in their homes awaiting when a family member or neighbors will fall sick so they can be treated and others sell them off to the many drug shops in the area. The general opinion was that community people have resorted to such acts due to the inadequate and unreliable medical stocks in the public health centres.

Participants at the public dialogue urged Kabarole District Local Government to crack the whip against the illegal drug shops which were reported to be in their majority in most of the sub counties with Ruteete taking the lead. It was also revealed that most of them are operated by quack medical workers and are actually operating without licenses from the National Drug Authority but only operating permits issued at Sub County sometimes under the influence of politicians. It was also revealed that the District Assistant Drug Inspector has either not performed his role of carrying out periodical inspection or could have been compromised.

The problem of quack medical workers but operating under permit of the sub counties was found to be wide spread not only in Kabarole but in Kasese (and other districts) as well.
(Picture of illegal drug shop license in Nyakiyumbu)
The participants in the dialogue meeting agreed that the District Health Officer, through the Sub County Chiefs, is to make available a list of the licensed drug shops operating in each of the sub counties with clear details of the names and qualification of the operator. The community based monitors and IWDP were asked to work closely with the sub county and district authorities to monitor the operations of the drug shops and expose any cases of quackery and sale of labeled and or un permitted drugs. In conclusion the Kabarole District Local Government was asked to mount an operation against illegal drug shops and their operators with immediate effect.
By Timothy Balikenga information officer