strategies for addressing the shortage of medicines to improve service delivery

Purpose: this paper aims to investigate strategies to address the shortage of medicines at princess marina hospital. there is a prevalent shortage of medicines with drastic implications for patients, the community, and the population. botswana is at a stage whereby issues affecting the unavailability of medicines need to be addressed as a matter of urgency, and the covid-19 pandemic has made the need more urgent. this study came at an opportune time to address this issue of high priority. methodology: the quantitative study design was adopted using a closed-ended questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 41 pharmacy personnel at princess marina hospital. findings: the recommended strategies are the rational use of medicines, implementation of an effective pharmacy inventory management system, training pharmacy personnel in supply chain management, increase in collaboration between the princess marina hospital and central medical stores, purchase of extra inventory as a buffer stock, hiring additional pharmaceutical personnel to manage medicines, redistribution of available stock between facilities, and implementation of regulatory flexibility to address the shortage of medicines at the princess marina hospital. these strategies will assist the management of health facilities in addressing the shortage of medicines. originality/value: the strategies for addressing medicines' supply and demand challenges to minimize their negative impacts on service delivery at princess marina hospital are identified.