Medicine Shortage Hits Major Public Hospitals

By Staff Writer Fatou Barry, Banjul.

Acute shortage of medicines coupled with the exorbitant price of medicine beyond the reach of average Gambian continues to ravage the people of the tiny impoverished state of The Gambia under the leadership of dictator Yahya Jammeh. Bulk of patients who were referred to private pharmacies to buy drugs complained that they have little or no access to medicine from government hospitals when they fallen sick.  Pharmacy owners are now said to be making huge profits from pharmacy business in the Gambia.

Amie Jobe, a patients residing in Banjul spoke on behalf of other patients at RVTH,  stressed that they will not recover from their illnesses if they are affected by financial cash trap.  "I received this remittance from my uncle who resides in United Kingdom for my treatment, without his help I will die in my sick bed without drugs” said Mrs.Jobe.

These patients accused the Jammeh Government of not being  concern about the unavailability of drugs in public health facilities.” Doctors in government hospitals always prescribed medicines for us. We cannot afford to buy medicines from private pharmacies due to its exorbitant price. The average Gambians still live under the abyss of poverty, let something be done to the precarious situation we found ourselves in,” protested Mrs.Jobe.

However, further investigation conducted by this reporter reveals that drug shortage is a nation wide concern especially in government hospitals such as Farafenni hospital,Sulayman Junkun Jammeh hospital in Bwiam,Basse hospital and Royal Victoria Teaching hospital in the capital Banjul.

At Farafenni, patients who spoke to this reporter called on the Jammeh administration to have mercy them. These desperate looking patients whose fate lies on the balance of probability complained that they are constant tax payers and deserve to have medicines. They cautioned that hospitals do not have medicines but pharmacies run by the same doctors at government hospitals have medicines. To this end patients reiterated that they cannot afford to buy medicines from private pharmacies which is said to be expensive. They accused government doctors of stealing drugs to run their pharmacies.