Pharmaceutical products worth Shs1.1 trillion imported annually

Uganda imported pharmaceutical products worth Shs1.1 trillion ($300.8m) in the year ended December 31, 2019.

The imports are contained in a Ministry of Finance report that reviews and classifies close to 1,500 imports for 2019.

On average, according to the document, Uganda imports pharmaceutical products worth Shs1 trillion.

The report also notes that Uganda imported assorted goods worth Shs28.5 trillion in 2019.

The pharmaceutical products are classified under different categories including mixed or unmixed products for retail, human blood, animal blood, antisera, vaccines and toxins.

For instance, in the period, the report notes, Uganda invested more in mixed or unmixed medicines, importing products worth Shs900b ($236.7m) in this category.

Mixed medicines include colloidal solutions and suspension, vegetable extracts, salts that help in the production of capsules and tablets while unmixed included retailed dissolvable medicines.

At least Shs207b ($54.4m) was spent on human blood, animal blood, antisera, vaccines, and toxins while Shs25b ($6.7m) was spent on dressings, adhesive plasters, poultices, surgical aids, dental and veterinary medicines, among others.

Uganda, according to details, sources 70 per cent of its pharmaceutical imports from India and China.

Shs8.75b ($2.3m), the report indicates, was spent on sterile surgical catgut, sterile tissue for surgical wound and other sterile products while Shs1.96b ($515,191) was spent on medicines with two or more constituents mixtures.

Uganda continues to be a net drugs importer despite increased capacity for local medicines and drugs production.
However, the country, through different arrangements with pharmaceutical manufacturers such as Cipla, exports drugs to Rwanda, Zambia and now South Africa.

Uganda is expected to see growth in drug imports this year due a number of strains key among them Covid-19.
Although the world currently has no known drug to treat Covid-19, there has been speculation that hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, has been used to treat the virus.

President Museveni, during his speech recently, announced that Uganda will for instance import hydroxychloroquine and related raw materials, which are expected to substantially increase pharmaceutical imports.

Hydroxychloroquine, according to recent reports, was highlighted as one of the drugs that is essential in the treatment of Covid-19.

There are indications that Cipla is expected to start manufacturing the drug locally.

However, the drug (hydroxychloroquine), had been phased out due to a number of side effects, key among them loss of eye-sight and paralysis.

Recently, Dr Henry Mwebesa, the Ministry of Health director general, said in a Tweet on his handle that some of the Covid-19 patients who were discharged had been treated using hydroxychloroquine and erythromycin.