{A report of the General Auditor indicates that RBC/MPPD continues to face rising cases of drugs expiring in stores over failing to implement proper methods of evaluating quality standards of drug quality.}
Statistics indicate that drugs and other medical materials worth Rwf 1,213,019,238 have expired in stores of RBC/MPDD between 2010 and 2015.
The 2014/2015 General Auditor’s report indicates that RBC placed orders of drugs with no specification of the needed quantity causing expiry of some imported drugs before usage, prompting the need to call MPPD, a branch in charge of placing orders of drugs in RBC for reform.
The report also indicates that more drugs in other RBC stores worth Rwf 2,672,054,413 expired between 2012 and 2015.
“The management of MPPD should find a way of determining the quantity of needed drugs and equipment to observe efficiency and avoid waste,” reads part of the report.
A weakness was also identified in the verification of drugs and other medical materials. Apart from foods that are inspected by Rwanda Standards Board, imported drugs bought from a certified company are immediately availed to hospitals without further testing.
RBC says that expired drugs are 2.4% of the total volume and therefore consider the situation as less severe.
RBC has explained to IGIHE that the expiration of drugs is not a result poor procurement plan and noted that it is seeking a way of reforming storage techniques saying they have updated storage system to AGE 1000 from SAGE L500.
“The expiration is caused by various reasons like the way of determining patients who will need the drugs, (as usual we make the provision of 5% of drugs as a reserve of unexpected sicknesses), drug resisting illnesses among others,” explained RBC.
Other reasons include medicines expiring in a short time and placing orders for drugs which cannot be used to treat more than one disease.
RBC has revealed a plan of adopting new measures of testing stores every month to identify drugs that will be about to expire.
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