Nurses steal ARVs for backyard pharmacies

Nurses are stealing anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) from government hospitals
to supply backyard pharmacies, a new report by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights (ZLHR) shows.

The report titled "Corruption Burns Universal Access", also says that people
with HIV and AIDS who go to government hospitals and clinics for drugs have
to pay bribes to nurses in order to get the life prolonging ARVs.

Although ARVs are available in Zimbabwe there are still many reports of the
difficulties patients have in accessing them. ZLHR said one of the problems
for shortages could be this hoarding of drugs by government workers.

Bhekezela Maponda, a project officer who was part of the research team, said
of the corrupt nurses on Monday: "What drives them is them is the need to
get more money and if their salaries are low they engage in this corruption
so as to supplement their income. You find they would have backyard
pharmacies where they take drugs from clinics and hospitals to sell them so
as to make more money. It was like a money spinning machine."

Nurses and other health workers in the public sector have often complained
about the poor salaries, as they earn between US$150 to US$250 per month.

The ZLHR officer said the absence of a code of conduct in hospitals also
meant workers could get away with the drugs scams and that staff shortages
meant hospitals did not have seniors to monitor the activities of nurses and
other staff.

"There is an absence of a code of conduct, but there is a patient's charter.
If there was a code of conduct, it would be easier for these cases to be
looked into," she said, adding: "The Ministry of Health commended our
efforts because they do not have good monitoring and evaluation systems in
place that would enable them to find this information."

Although Maponda said the Ministry of Health Ministry of Health told them it
will look into the issue, it is unlikely to be investigated as patients are
afraid to come forward and testify out of fear of victimisation.

Zimbabwe's cash-strapped health system also does not have the money to pay
senior staff, who could monitor nurses.