E-drug: SA Northern Province floods & donations (cont'd)
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I understand Danie's reticence about naming names, but this sort of
behaviour should be made public for the following reasons:
Sending useless aid may actually prevent or at least slow down the arrival
of bona fide aid.
The donors may well be using the donation as a tax dodge to write off stock
at full value that is about to be written off anyway. I remember seeing a
drug donation arrive in The Gambia some years ago from a donor in Canada
with an AWB value showing its full commercial value in Canada, all within
weeks of expiry. Almost all the donation of no use to local needs.
Receiving staff time is wasted in trying to sort out useable items from
useless ones
Drugs with unreadable labels have to be relabeled before they can be used.
I once saw a church donation in Sierra Leone most of which was either in
German or Russian, neither language being readily understood in Sierra
Leone, and much time was wasted trying to find a translator.
So I suggest contacting the donor at once explaining the effect of the
donation and if that does not bring a positive response go public with the
names.
Anthony Battersby
FBA Health Systems Analysts
FBA@compuserve.com
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