Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary for Technical Services, Kennedy Malama, has reiterated government’s commitment to the provision of equity and access to quality, safe and efficacious medicines to Zambians.
Dr. Malama said this is manifested through a number of programmes implemented by the Ministry of Health to ensure that there is effective regulation of medicines at all levels from manufacturing, importation and exportation, distribution, storage, sale and use.
He said this in a speech read on his behalf by Ministry of Health Director for Performance Improvement, Jelita Chinyonga during the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) media engagement in Lusaka today.
Dr. Malama said effective regulation of medicines requires strategic and consistent engagement and collaborations with key developmental partners such as the media.
“The media has the ability to influence positive change in society through production and dissemination of information on issues such as the dangers of self-medicating, adverse reactions to medicines, clinical trials and production and recalls among others,” he said.
He noted that the role of the media in sensitising the masses on regulatory related information cannot be over emphasised.
The Permanent Secretary explained that awareness creation on regulatory information such as establishments of pharmaceutical and retail outlets, dangers of illegal sale of medicines, advertising and promotion of medicines is imperative in ensuring that public health is safeguarded and promoted.
And speaking at the same event, ZAMRA Acting Director General Lyoka Nyambe said the media remains a key stakeholder in effectively delivering the authority’s mandate of ensuring that all medicines and allied substances placed on the Zambian market conform to set standards of quality, safety and efficacy throughout the supply chain.
Mr. Nyambe said the media helps to sensitive and educate the masses on regulatory information as well as influencing positive attitudes and change towards rational use of medicines.
Right. Then please explain why government officials – especially the security forces – are prioritized with allocation of medicines including vaccines? This must be PF “equality”. Typical behaviour of a corrupt government.
Now all these senior officials and ministers are nowhere to be seen unless its giving away taxpayer’s money …speeches are being read on their behalf by their juniors whilst they are out campaigning abusing govt time and resources.
There’s an urgent need for ZAMRA, HPCZ and other stakeholders to sit and streamline their roles. The Pharmaceutical Society must also come and review the list of medicines that don’t require prescriptions. You can imagine people in township pay as much as K150 at private clinics just to be given a prescription to buy Coartem for K35! Many Zambians know how to manage simple malaria at home. Medicines like that for malaria, coughs & colds, pain killers should be allowed to be sold in tuntemba to ease people’s suffering. Most people in the informal sector can’t be enrolled on NHIMA yet and they’re in majority. These institutions are lugging behind in most cases. Let’s move with times. Life make people’s lives easy. Why should mothers wake up at 04.00hrs to queue for antenatal?
UPND media, please stop using that watermelon with a zipper. It is disgusting and will make Zambians lose elections again.
You are doing a great job. Continue and don’t be deterred by f00lish upnd