By Ibrahim Karim Bangura (Tanko)

At Sierra Leone’s 2025 Financial Year budget discussions which commenced week ago at the Ministry of Finance headquarters at George Street in Freetown, national medical supplier, NMSA has been praised by government authorities.

On Tuesday, 20th August, 2025 the National Medical Supplies Agency (NMSA) presented their internal proposal budget to the Ministry of Finance and was willingly endorsed by government budget developers.

In her submissions, the Acting Managing Director, Jatu Abdulia outlined their vision, mission, successes and challenges.

NMSA requesting NLe 102, 250.4 billon Leones for the FY 2025 national budget. The money was requested for the medical agency to be able to carry out their activities.

Madam Jatu admitted the workload ahead as very huge and tough for them to overcome which requires more finance.

“The National Medical Supplies Agency (NMSA) is presently facing mammoth of challenges and obstructs to ensure the aptitude, safe and quality storage of pharmaceutical products.”

Over the years, the distribution of funding to NMSA to be able to conduct full distribution of the medical logiatics across the country has not been forthcoming. The donor support ultimately declined over time, so we wish government to consider in  supporting on the distribution and other related activities,”she explained.

The agency says it is facing inadequate human resources, adding that, going forward, there should be no late disbursement of funds to implement planned activities.

Madam Jatu talked of the constraints faced due to lack of enough human resource at the agency and other related issues faced including the need for more recruitments across the different departments within the sector which she pointed as key for the growth of the agency.

“We are operating under the Ministry of Health Sanitation. Our major gaps in NMSA’s organogram are needed to be filled; there is deep issue of inadequate funding to the agency to be able to carry out capacity building activities, and also the unavailability of funds to monitor and supervise activities on the use of logistics, there is a need for management of information system and trainings for staff especially on budget related issues.”

Despite the challenges, she highlighted main achievements on key deliverables such as forecasting, supply planning and quantification of facility needed during Covid-19, drugs and medical supplies and establishments and operationalization of some treatment centres (FBC, CCC, PMTC, ADRA), the Jui hospital and in some districts, that they were able to develop an emergency playbook for disease outbreaks, storage for procured and donated drugs and medical supplies for Covd-19 response.

Also, the emergency distribution of iPC/PPE’s and Covid-19 supplies to TCCCC and isolation centres, hospitals and other facilities form part of NMSA’s achievements.

NMSA’s director (acting) says NMSA as the medical logistics lead-pillar would continue to support the NACOVERC and ĐICOVERC structures with the management of the medical supplies for distribution to various facilities nationwide.

According to responses at the program later on, NMSA in their presenting of FY2025 was praised overwarmingly.

The agency commendation followed after a rapt analysis done by the Madam Jatu and colleagues.

They noted that the budget was full of many projections and future projects operations.

After various reproaches raised by stakeholders, civil society and media houses regarding a welcoming  budget presentation, NMSA budget was approval with a 70% of attendees present at the conference room.

However, critical issues such as inadequate warehousing infrastructure and limited storage capacity have persisted, directly impacting the agency’s efficiency in managing Sierra Leone’s healthcare supply chain.

The absence of sufficient and appropriate storage facilities has complicated NMSA’s ability to efficiently manage the inventory of essential medicines, though the ongoing construction of a new warehouse in Kerry Town is a decisive step toward addressing these challenges, but until this facility is completed, the promise of improved healthcare delivery remains unclear.

Madam Jatu  cited current procurement challenges, explaining that after quantifying the needs for this year, Sierra Leone requires $23 million to procure necessary drugs. However, only $5.6 million has been secured from FCDO through UNICEF.

The annual need is $40 million to purchase all required drugs, yet only $5.6 million is available, highlighting the urgent need for a more robust financial commitment from the government to ensure that essential health commodities are accessible to all citizens.

Mohamed Koroma, a civil society activist from PortLoko said Sierra Leone currently lacks a Pharma-grade warehouse, which is critical for the proper storage of medications. The Kerry Town project, a 7,000-square-meter Pharma-grade warehouse, is under construction and requires $15 million in funding. While the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Global Fund are providing part of the funding through a blend of loans and grants, the government’s commitment of $2 million is still needed. The completion of this project is vital to ensuring that medications are stored safely and effectively, ultimately benefiting patients nationwide.

Madam Jatu noted that the agency currently relies on rented facilities, with an annual expenditure of $500,000. This dependency underscores the urgency of establishing a permanent, dedicated facility for pharmaceutical storage.

Besides, there is a pressing need for significant rehabilitation and decongestion at both the Central Medical Stores and District Medical Stores (DMS). The construction of regional warehouses and DMS for Falaba and Karene districts is also essential to improving accessibility to medical supplies.

For the 2024 expenditure breakdown from January to August, NMSA achieved a 44% execution rate and only a 33% execution rate for the approved 2023 budget.

These numbers highlight the ongoing struggle to secure and effectively utilize funds in a timely manner.

Madam Jatu emphasized that delays in the disbursement of funds severely affect procurement activities. For instance, late release of funds can result in significant gaps in the supply chain, leading to stock-outs of essential medications. This situation places immense pressure on healthcare providers striving to deliver quality care to their patients.

NMSA recognizes the need to strengthen its workforce to effectively manage the supply chain. The agency aims to fill vacant positions and enhance the skills of its staff, as supply chain management requires specialized competencies. Investing in human resources is crucial for building a resilient healthcare system that can respond to the needs of the population.

The healthcare supply chain in Sierra Leone suffers from fragmentation, with multiple parallel supply chains established by various donors. This lack of coordination dilutes resources and creates inefficiencies, making it challenging for NMSA to align procurement with actual needs. The consequences of this fragmentation are felt by patients who may not receive the medications they require in a timely manner.