The State House Health Monitoring Unit is conducting an investigation into Kamwenge district, following public complaints of ineffective service delivery in local health facilities.
700 million Shillings worth of drugs – including anti-malarials, quinine and ARVs – have been found to be past their expiration date.
Team leader Dr. Brian Alinaitwe has accused District Health Officer, Dr. William Muchunguzi, of failing to inform the national drug regulator, National Drugs Authority (NDA) in a timely manner about the issue; furthermore, his team is investigating allegations of misuse of UGX 1.5 billion that was meant for primary healthcare services but has not been properly accounted for by the District Health Officer (DHO).
In response, Muchunguzi blamed the Treatment Regime Change Policy for several essential drugs that are expiring at numerous facilities across the district.
Julianne Nabatanzi, Deputy Director at the State House Health Monitoring Unit additionally noted that most health units lack supervision from Muchunguzi’s office and as a result feature poor hygiene standards as well as employees who are absent from work without permission.
Police bonds have been set against four medics due to evidence of theft and extortion alongside other serious cases such as forgery uncovered during this investigation.