Kampala-Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have decried the persistent stock outs of HIV medicines in Uganda
Addressing a press conference in Kampala on Wednesday, the CSOs under the Uganda Coalition for Access to Essential Medicines said the recent stock outs of 3rd line treatment has left devastating impact on people living with HIV/AIDS. Some of the CSOs under the coalition include HEPS-Uganda, UGANET and JABASA among others
“Over the last 6-9 months, monitoring of the quality and accessibility of the HIV response carried out by people living with HIV and other directly impacted communities has exposed chronic shortages of HIV treatment at facilities across the country, particularly third-line medicines such as raltegravir and darunavir.” Said Salome Atim, the Country Coordinator Mechanism for Global Fund while presenting a statement on behalf of the CSOs.
She added, “The persistence in the problem with no solution a few weeks ending June and beginning July was so appalling that affected people living with HIV revealed that they were at a phase where clients were being given ART refills for as little as one week.
The CSOs says there is fear, panic and worry over potential risks of having disease progression and drug resistance that the current HIV response at the moment may not handle because there are no options beyond 3rd line-placing the lives of close to 2.500 clients served by the National response in jeopardy.
They say while some medicines were recently delivered to Joint Medical Stores, this has not resolved the crisis as there’s likely to be further persistence of the stock outs because the supplies made a week ago are inadequate and incomplete.
The CSO Coalition are seeking answers from the AIDS Control Program as to why there were stock outs in the first place, dialogue on the potential strategies or solutions for ensuring that the affected clients get the needed support.
They also called for urgent responses to these reported cases of persistent stock outs of Raltegravir, Darunavir, and Ritonavir from the Government of Uganda, PEPFAR, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund)
“Stock outs and shortages of HIV commodities at the health facilities increase the risk of treatment interruption, antiretroviral resistance, treatment failure, sickness and death. Unsuppressed viral load can also result in onward transmission of HIV through sex or during pregnancy. Many people on third-line treatment are young people who already face extraordinary challenges living with HIV stigma and discrimination.” Said Atim
The CSOs are now recommending that:
- Government of Uganda implements the 15% Abuja declaration as a signatory and ensure that each health sector including HIV has clear cut expenses for all areas of intervention including commodities.
- Government of Uganda in situations of such crisis speak out and inform the affected population with clear guidance on how the clients will be managed by service providers over the period of such crisis
- The National Medical Stores (NMS) delivers medicines with longer shelf life which will reduce on volume of expiries.
- NMS Strengthens inventory management practices and optimizes supply chain management of medical and pharmaceutical products for commodity security with minimal stock outs of essential products.
- There is timely delivery of supplies by NMS to mitigate the risk of drug stock outs.
- Global Fund steps up with an emergency procurement of medicines for third line treatment, doubling current investments in order to ensure all people with HIV on third line of continuous access to highly active therapy.
However, the ministry of health has come out to clarify that there are adequate 3rd line ARV drugs in the country.
“Joint Medical Stores and National Medical Stores completed the distribution last week! These are drugs for 900-1,000 patients. There are no stock outs of ARVs in the country” Tweeted Emmanuel Ainebyona, the ministry of health spokesperson on Wednesday
