NMS seeks bigger storage facilities as demand for medicines rises

What the report says

National Medical Stores has appealed for government backing to expand its storage capacity as demand for essential medicines supplied to public health facilities continues to rise. According to Nile Post, the agency says its existing facilities are becoming too small to handle the volumes of drugs now needed across the country.

The call was made by NMS Managing Director Moses Kamabare during a visit by Parliament’s Health Committee to the agency’s Kajjansi facilities. Legislators toured areas where medicines are received, stored and prepared for distribution, including warehouses and refrigeration units used for temperature-sensitive products. Kamabare said the agency is working to ensure that Ugandans continue to receive essential medicines free of charge, but argued that more space is needed to keep up with increasing demand.

NMS said it currently operates on about 10 acres of land, which it described as increasingly insufficient. The agency also pointed to wider pressures affecting medicine availability and distribution, including alleged diversion of free government medicines, poor estimation of needs, irrational prescribing, prescribing outside clinical guidelines and polypharmacy, all of which it said can contribute to shortages.

Committee chair Dr Julius Rude Monday praised NMS for delivering medicines to health facilities and communities and said the committee would support efforts to seek additional government assistance. The issue matters because storage capacity affects how reliably medicines can be stocked and distributed in Uganda’s public health system.