NMS Spent Shs3.6bn to Destroy Expired Drugs Worth Shs8.2bn Amid Distribution Failures
KAMPALA—The National Medical Stores (NMS) spent Shs3.6 billion to incinerate expired medicines and medical supplies worth Shs8.2 billion after the consignments reportedly remained in storage facilities and failed to reach health centres across the country in time.
The revelation has ignited fresh concerns over accountability and efficiency within Uganda’s public healthcare supply chain, with critics questioning how billions of shillings’ worth of life-saving medicines could expire in government stores while many health facilities continue to grapple with chronic shortages.
Information available indicates that the drugs and medical supplies remained in NMS warehouses due to logistical challenges, particularly inadequate transportation arrangements for timely distribution to districts. By the time efforts were made to clear the stock, the medicines had exceeded their shelf life and had to be destroyed through incineration at an additional cost to the taxpayer.
The combined financial loss—Shs8.2 billion in expired medicines and Shs3.6 billion spent on their disposal—amounts to Shs11.8 billion.
The development is likely to draw scrutiny from Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee and the Health Committee, which have in recent years repeatedly raised concerns about wastage, procurement inefficiencies, and inventory management within the health sector.
Health experts say the incident exposes significant gaps in forecasting, stock monitoring, and last-mile delivery systems.
“It is deeply troubling that medicines can expire in stores while patients in several districts are forced to purchase drugs from private pharmacies,” said a Kampala-based public health analyst who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The expiry of the medicines comes at a time when several government health facilities have continued to report intermittent shortages of essential drugs, including antibiotics, antimalarials, and other critical medical supplies.
Stakeholders are now demanding answers from NMS officials on why the medicines were not redistributed to facilities with higher demand before expiry and whether early warning mechanisms existed to identify stocks approaching the end of their shelf life.
Questions have also been raised over the cost of destruction itself, with observers calling for greater transparency regarding the procurement of incineration services and whether the expenditure represented value for money.
Established to procure, store, and distribute medicines and other health supplies to public health facilities, National Medical Stores plays a central role in Uganda’s healthcare system. Any disruption in its operations has far-reaching implications for service delivery nationwide.
The latest incident is expected to intensify calls for reforms within the institution, including the adoption of digital inventory tracking systems, improved transport logistics, and stronger oversight mechanisms to minimize wastage of public resources.
For many Ugandans, however, the figures tell a troubling story: billions of shillings lost, medicines destroyed, and patients left wondering how life-saving supplies never made it from government warehouses to the communities that needed them most.
