The National Director of Hospital Support Services, of the Ministry of Health (MS), Horacio Sarmento, said medicine stocks at the Autonomous Medicine and Health Equipment Service (SAMES) storehouse are enough at the moment to serve the community but will run out by March 2014.
SAMES recently received 15 containers with medicines shipped through the Dili Port and five trucks loaded with medicines transported from Kupang, in West Timor, and an evaluation team from the ministry is inspecting the goods to ensure they correspond to the orders submitted by SAMES for purchase.
“We have limited stock of some medicines, but we believe they will last through March 2014,” said Director Sarmento in Dili.
Indonesian Pharmaceutical Company Kimia Farma supplied most of the items in an essential medicines list. Other consumables were purchased by the Ministry of Health through local companies.
“The medicines from Kimia Farma are more expensive compared with local companies,” added Director Sarmento.
Meanwhile, the Acting Chief of Atauro’s sub-district health center, Januario Cabessa Soares, noted whilst in the past there was a shortage of medicines current stocks are enough to attend patients.
“If we are running low on some medicines we put in a request to SAMES and they will ship them to us,” said Chief Cabessa.
