Africa-Press – Zambia. The government has announced that it has procured enough essential medicines for health facilities to address the shortage of drugs that hit some health facilities.
Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Technical Service Lackson Kasonka said that medicines will be supplied to medical facilities next week. Professor Kasonka told ZNBC News that Government remains focused to ensure that all medical facilities are fully stocked with essential drugs.
He further warned staff in Government medical facilities against pilfering drugs because such behaviour will attract stiff punishment. Professor Kasonka added that Government has put measures aimed at curbing drug pilferage in hostels and Clinics.
Meanwhile, Peter Phiri, who is immediate past MMD deputy spokesperson, has said that people making negative comments on the shortage of drugs in public health facilities are being hypocritical. In a statement, Mr Phiri said that drug shortages in hospitals and health posts are historical in Zambia and as such, should not be politicised.
“Let all those who are negatively making comments on what is happening at the ministry of health ceasefire. The issue of drug shortages are historical here in Zambia. For people to start pretending that shortages of drugs in the country’s hospitals and health posts is not only hypocritical but very cheap politics. The shortage of drugs should not be politicised,” said Phiri. “We have seen people being given medicine slips to get medicines at the hospital dispensaries only to be referred to chemists owned by the same cartels. And at times the same drugs are labeled not for sale or GRZ. This issue of referring people from hospitals to private chemists and pharmacies is well known and some health workers have been caught taking medicines to private chemists,” he said
He pointed out that there is a cartel in the procurement and supply of medicines in public health facilities. Phiri said that there is need to curtail the cartel in the drug supply chain.
“There’s a very big cartel in the procurement and supply of medicines. The government has been procuring quite alright, but there’s an invincible hand, which is reselling drugs using government resources and that powerful syndicate went to an extent of bringing in expired drugs in the country. And now to start accusing the government, not only the current government, we are not being fair to ourselves,” Phiri stated. “Drug syndicate is not easy to break. Drug business all over the world is very big and in some cases people die because of drug syndicates. What we should be doing as a country right now is to curtail the cartel in the health system. We should not politicise this but try to help stop the syndicate.”
And Phiri stressed that the issue of the importation of expired drugs should not die a natural death. “And the issue of expired drugs that were brought in the country should not die a natural death. This issue is slowly dying a natural death. The problem we have in Zambia is that we easily forget,” Phiri added.
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