Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr John Mangwiro has said the country was putting in place mechanisms that will result in the reduction of prices of medicines in local institutions.
He claimed that the involvement of middlemen in the procurement of medical drugs was resulting in the escalation of prices as the dealers add their mark-up.
Dr Mangwiro made the remarks this Friday while addressing volunteer community health workers and local rapid response teams for public health support measures against Covid-19 in Kadoma.
He was representing Vice President Constantino Chiwenga who doubles as the Minister of Health and Child Care. Mangwiro claimed:
Our medical drugs are expensive that even if someone was to travel to Botswana, spend a night in a hotel and buy the medication, the price remains lower than what someone can buy for in Zimbabwe.
We are planning to cut middlemen who just want to line their pockets at the expense of citizens, resulting in prices of medication going up.
The Government is also working towards the production of more drugs locally.
Medicines in Zimbabwe have for a prolonged period of time now been expensive especially in private health institutions who take advantage of the collapsed public health sector.
Government health institutions have for many years experienced huge shortages of medicines and other essential equipment a situation that has hamstrung health service delivery.
Analysts have often attributed the lack to negligence by political elites whom they say care less about the state of local health institutions since they, prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus, could get medical assistance abroad.
More: ZBC News
