Health advocates have proposed the establishment of a special court — the Pharmacy and Medicines Regulatory Authority (PMRA) Commercial Court — to fast-track cases related to drug theft and other pharmaceutical crimes.
Dingani Mithi, one of the advocates, said drug theft cases often drag in the current judicial system, delaying justice and weakening deterrence against offenders.
“The current laws are too lenient and fail to deter offenders who continue to drain vital health resources meant for patients,” said Mithi.
Supporting the proposal, Benjamin Chinoko, another advocate, suggested that Malawi should adopt digital tracking technologies to assign unique identifiers to all medicines purchased for the Ministry of Health.
Chinoko said such a system would make it easier to trace drugs stolen from public hospitals and illegally sold in private clinics and pharmacies.
The call comes amid rising cases of drug theft in public health facilities, a persistent problem that continues to undermine healthcare delivery and public trust in the system.
To strengthen enforcement, PMRA recently collaborated with the Judiciary to enhance the regulatory environment and discourage non-compliance within the pharmaceutical sector.
Under the PMRA Act of 2019, stealing medicines from public facilities is a serious offense, carrying penalties of up to K20 million in fines and a 20-year prison sentence.
By Alufisha Fischer
