The Auditor General, Edward Akol, has revealed that the National Medical Stores (NMS) lost more than UGX 8.04 billion through expired drugs in the 2024/2025 financial year, a sharp decline from the UGX 316 billion loss recorded the previous year.
The disclosure is contained in the December 2025 Auditor General’s annual report, which was tabled before Parliament last week. Akol warned that persistent losses arising from expired medicines continue to disrupt patient treatment and, in some cases, lead to deaths among patients who cannot afford to purchase drugs from private facilities.
According to the report, as of 30 June 2025, NMS held non-viable and expired drugs valued at UGX 8.04 billion, comprising UGX 530 million worth of Government of Uganda stock and UGX 7.51 billion supplied by development partners.
“This represents a 97% reduction from the value of expired drugs amounting to UGX 316 billion, mainly COVID-19 vaccines, as at 30 June 2024,” Akol noted.
He attributed the expiries largely to a misalignment between the country’s actual medicine needs and what was procured, as well as changes in treatment protocols by the World Health Organization (WHO) after procurement had already been completed.
“The above shortcomings in the procurement and distribution of Essential Medicines and Health Supplies (EMHS) increase the risk of stock-outs at health facilities, treatment disruptions, and deaths among patients who cannot afford to procure medicines from private pharmacies,” Akol warned.
The Auditor General advised government to address these systemic weaknesses to minimise disruptions in the delivery of EMHS across public health facilities.
Under Section 4(a) and (b) of the National Medical Stores Act, Cap. 207, NMS is mandated to procure, store and distribute essential medicines and medical supplies to all public health facilities nationwide. The mandate covers 3,432 health centres at various levels across the country.
However, Akol revealed that funding provided to NMS during the period under review fell short of assessed requirements by UGX 181 billion.
A review of the National Annual Needs Analysis and Quantification of Essential Medicines and Health Supplies, jointly compiled by the Ministry of Health and NMS, showed that UGX 1.574 trillion is required annually for NMS to adequately meet national EMHS demand. During the year, only UGX 1.393 trillion was committed, leaving a funding gap of UGX 181 billion, equivalent to 11% of the required resources.
Adopted from Prisca Wanyenya, https://www.parliamentwatch.ug/
