The Opposition Leader, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, has urged the Chief Executive Officer for the Ministry of Health, June Scanlan Lui, to find a way to pay the $12 million debt for medications from overseas.

The question was put to Tuilaepa by the media during his usual press conference on Thursday about what the Ministry of Health should do to avoid the shortage of medications at the National Hospital.

"This is all part of the CEO's responsibility, pay it up," he said.

"The question is, why hasn't it been paid? Pay it up, or the hospital will face a very bad shortage of medications and supplies needed for the patients." 

A continuing shortage of basic medicines at Samoa’s main hospital in Moto’otua is leaving many patients frustrated and forcing families to spend extra money at private pharmacies to access essential treatment.

The issue follows several previous reports by the Samoa Observer regarding the lack of medication at the national hospital pharmacy. Patients this week said medicines such as Metformin for diabetes, Amlodipine for high blood pressure and even children’s Paracetamol syrup remain difficult to access. 

Mele Fiaola, 54, of Vaitele, said she visited the hospital earlier this week for her regular diabetes check-up but was informed that Metformin was unavailable. “I was told to come back another day because the medicine had not arrived yet,” she said. “I cannot wait too long because I need it every day. I ended up going to Maria’s Pharmacy and buying my tablets there.”

Meanwhile, parents are also expressing concern over the shortage of Paracetamol for children suffering from fever. Ana Sanele, a mother of three from Falelauniu, said she took her young son to the hospital after he developed a high fever, only to be told the children’s Paracetamol syrup was unavailable. “As parents, we expect the hospital to have basic medicine for kids,” she said. “After the check-up, I went straight to Maria’s Pharmacy to buy the syrup because my son needed it immediately.”

The ongoing shortages continue to raise concerns among members of the public who rely heavily on government health services for affordable medication.