Norway has advised the Malawi’s Ministry of Health to improve management of its finances at both central and district hospitals level, saying good financial management is crucial to continued funding.

Norwegian Ambassador Asbjorn Eidhammer, speaking during the planning and budgeting meeting for central and district hospitals in Lilongwe on Monday, said the health sector programme is in danger because the issue of drugs has not been resolved.

He said Norway and the Flanders governments will continue to provide funding to keep health system in operation.

Said Eidhammer: “The support from Norway will not be for drugs, but to operational activities [which] may ease the pressure on the government’s drug budgets as we hear that funding earmarked for drugs has been used for other purposes.

“Good financial management is crucial for continued cooperation in health. We need to see an improvement. The core challenge from audit reports is the lack of documentation at hospitals.

“If you do not properly document how resources are spent, it is difficult to know that they have been spent on the right priorities and in a proper manner.”

Eidhammer also asked the Ministry of Health to set up a separate account whose funding will go directly to district and referral hospitals.

He said a study done by the Norwegian Embassy shows that 18 percent of the drugs are not accounted for, a development he said can be traced back to poor record keeping.

Said Eidhammer: “We understand that there are a lot of reasons, but we are saying, it is important for hospitals to keep these records.”

Minister of Health Catherine Gotani Hara said it is for this reason that they had gathered district hospitals from across the country to discuss these issues.

“The health sector has many challenges, but we are also optimistic and thankful that all will go according to plan,” she said.