Stealing from the Sick & Poor

The current future is one where people’s lives are held in the palms of individuals. They either give you life or send you to your grave before time has come for you to pass on.

Gone are the days of respect to nature and hearts filled with goodness. We can see the contrary in the current times and the world can expect anything, anytime.

Few months ago, BBC uncovered evidence in a well done investigative story spearhead by NBS Journalist Solomon Serwanja and his undercover team consisting of Godfrey Badebye, Muhammad Kassim who have brought to light the vice of prescription drugs being sold illegally in Uganda.

Let’s not say only Uganda, but the same happens elsewhere in most African countries. Life –saving drugs meant for the sick have been stolen and sold to people whose lives are in danger. Many government sectors are rotting off with evil activities in the background of their daily functions and it is at this point that journalists have come up to expose these evils.

It should be noted that the media continues to play a great role in investigative reporting, awareness, and bringing to book fact file incidences in all sectors.

In the plight of this story, a victim of drug theft Richard Olaja the pharmacist who appeared in the video committed suicide after having learnt of the release of the BBC story which also aired on the local television NBS in Uganda.

OLAJA LEAVES A NOTE

Olaja was found unconscious at Lucky Guest House in Rubaga village, in Kimaka Jinja district in Uganda took his own life but left a note to the mother. Here it reads:

To mum

Mummy I loved you so much and will always love you.

I thank you for bringing me to this world. I think I have had enough of it it’s now my time to leave.

Mummy tell my little brother precious never to get any friend because all the suffering am going through is because of someone I took as a friend who set up journalists to come to me and claim they wanted to buy drugs.

Mummy this I will swear to you with tears in my eyes that I have never sold any medicines or drugs to anyone at any point in my profession.

Mummy I tried hard to avoid them but they insisted. Mummy 120 caused all this to me.

Thanks your beloved Richard.

I am sorry for the pain I am going to make you go through but mummy take care of Precious.

Could it have been fear or the guilty of being exposed to the world for involving in the evil act that leaves millions of lives in stake at government facilities and hospitals?

While other victims who appeared in the video are still alive and roaming, the absolute truth is that many people have died before for lack of medicines in health facilities.

Stealing from the sick has become a daily activity and game being played by those who we think hold values for the medical profession. Theft from the sick is not very new to our ears. It’s not new though, and if existing governments and concerned parties do not get involved in stopping weevils infiltrating the medical professionals, government officials among others, we shall have more of the same year in year out.

The tendency of increased death from without access to medicines, Africans are susceptible to the three big killer diseases on the continent: malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Globally, 50% of children under five who die of pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, HIV, tuberculosis and malaria are in Africa, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The organization defines having access to medicine as having medicines continuously available and affordable at health facilities that are within one hour’s walk of the population can be life changing and life saving.

In Uganda alone with a population of : 42,862,958 (2017) , the top ten causes of death include, Neonatal disorders, HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Lower respiratory infections, Tuberculosis, Diarrhea diseases, ischemic heart disease, Congenital defects, Stroke, and Road injuries.

Over the past eight years, the problem of shortages of medicine in medical facilities has been looming because of major stock out as well production of less than what the sick can consume.

While the National Medical Stores (NMS) insists on providing numbers of medicines that Ugandans can benefit from as distributed to government health facilities, it is suspected that the biggest cause of shortages could be theft of medicines.

The ministry of health (MOU) has also not done enough to fight this vice since among them are the big fish of medicine theft which they channel to their private clinics and facilities.

So with the involvement of the media and uncovering the story of theft of drugs by BBC and its profound journalists should be a quick step for government to start with those that appear in the videos plus doing in-depth investigations and fact checking on its medical practitioners.

Different governments should also concentrate on sensitizing its citizens that medicines in government facilities are free and not for sale and most especially if they are labelled “Not for Sale”

I think everyone in Africa and especially Uganda is entitled to free medicine to kick out killer diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis among others. Therefore, before we pity the ones who are dying and committing suicide for appearing in an investigative story, let’s put our focus on millions of poor people that die every day due to lack or shortages of medicines in hospitals due to unprofessional medical practitioners that steal the drugs meant for them.

BBC STORY ON DRUG theft here ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=796&v=d41_BaVygQI