The CGU audit points to losses of up to R$7.3 billion in medicines, vaccines and other supplies between 2021 and 2023, recalling that Jair Bolsonaro is still paying cheaply for leading the country into its worst health crisis, which should be enough to revive the debate about the previous government’s responsibility.
Vaccines purchased during the pandemic account for the bulk of the lost inputs. The account also includes “gold standard” coronavirus tests, insulin and thousands of other items that the previous government tried to send to Haiti on the eve of their expiry date.
The report notes that at least 2.3 billion reais was lost in the Ministry of Health’s warehouses. The worst-case scenario involves the transfer of short-term supplies to the state. The scrapped inventory is significant, twice the amount of Pharmacia Popular’s budget last year.
It would be unfair to place the same burden on the Lula government and the previous government. The former president undermined confidence in vaccines by betting on Army-made chloroquine. In addition, the Health Logistics Directorate was managed alternately between people appointed by the center and military personnel.
But the discarded products send a message to Lula’s government, which has already provided a sample of the costs of the failed purchases. Last year, for example, the ministry lost almost the entire 10 million CoronaVac doses it had purchased late when the product was no longer available, wasting at least 260 million reais.
While the Bolsonaro government’s responsibility for the pandemic must be unraveled, health teams can no longer use past administrations as a shield from new failures.
The CGU initiative should serve as a warning, and audit proposals such as defining acceptable loss percentages and replacing outdated inventory management systems need to be accepted to show that a change in stance is more than just lip service.
About The Author
