NNN takes aim at medicine shortage crisis

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is investigating whether sabotage is contributing to medicine shortages at state hospitals and clinics, while seeking to introduce a tracking system to monitor medicines from delivery to the patient.She was responding to a question during a town hall meeting in Mondesa, Swakopmund, on Friday evening, where residents raised concerns about overcrowded health facilities, long queues and medicine shortages.“Is the government bankrupt or what is going on?” one resident asked.Nandi-Ndaitwah described the shortages as “the elephant in the room”, saying she hears complaints about the issue wherever she goes.“In terms of the medicine we are buying, there is an improvement from what we were having prior to this administration. I’m hearing there’s a problem of distribution,” she said.She said some people were still under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission, while others had been transferred from one position to another.“Whether it is now sabotage which is there for people really not to like this government is something I’m working on very seriously to see what is really happening,” she said.The president also said she understood that some people allowed medicine stocks to run out before complaining about the shortages on social media.“I don’t know how true,” she added.Government is considering a technology-based system that would track medicines from the time they arrive until they reach patients at clinics and hospitals, she said.“But please give me a chance. I will try, I will try, I will try,” she assured residents.During a visit to FabuPharm in Otjiwarongo in May, Nandi-Ndaitwah said medicine shortages were giving her sleepless nights.She has previously said that direct procurement from suppliers, introduced in August last year, had saved government more than N$221.5 million and increased medicine availability from 49% to 57%, against a target of 80%.The health ministry subsequently put national medicine stock levels at about 60%, a figure disputed by medical specialists at state hospitals.

NNN takes aim at medicine shortage crisis

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Namibian Sun 2026-11-09

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NNN takes aim at medicine shortage crisis

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Namibian Sun 2026-11-09

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