Acting Minister of Health Mulambo Haimbe has said the status of essential medicines and medical supplies is at 42.2% for public health supply countrywide.
During a media briefing on the status of essential medicines and medical supplies in Lusaka on Friday, Mr. Haimbe said the Government through the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) has made headway in securing adequate essential health commodities.
He said this week Zambia received 50 Health Center Kits as first batch from the 42,000 Kits procured from Mission Pharma from India.
“Currently, the status of essential medicines and medical supplies is at 42.2%. The Government through the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) the institution mandated to procure, store and distribute medicines and medical supplies for all public health facilities in the Zambia has made tremendous headway in securing adequate essential health commodities aimed at ensuring easy and equitable access to quality healthcare services.On Monday 23rd May 2023 we witnessed the symbolic arrival of 50 Health Center Kits in the country, airlifted to set the pace for the arrival of the first batch from the 42,000 Kits procured from Mission Pharma from India. ZAMMSA is expected to receive 7000 kits June 2023-month end. Thereafter, the country will continue to receive 7000 kits every Two (2) months until all the 42,000 are received,” Mr. Haimbe said.
He said ZAMMSA has started procurements through the Unified Procurement Authority (UPA) of Egypt and the Untied Nations Agencies like United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to address the stock imbalances in the medicines and medical supplies in the country.
“ZAMMSA has put all required logistics in place to distribute these Health Centre Kits in a record time of two weeks across the country to addressed the current gaps in the supply chain of medicines and medical supplies in the health centres offering primary healthcare to our people.Health Center Kits are the backbone of the Public Health Supply Chain System and a game changer in our quest to improve the availability of essential medicines and medical supplies in our health facilities.A health center kit consists of 58 different products ranging from essential medicines such as various antibiotics, pain medication , antifungals to gloves to mention better a few. The broad range of products will ensure the treatment of about 80-90% of cases at primary health care such as diarrhoea in children, pneumonia, manage uncomplicated deliveries. Each Health centre kit has the capacity to treat over 900 patients and securing the kits will stabilize the drug situation in the country as primary health care accounts for 96% of public Health Facilities in Zambia,” Mr. Haimbe said.
He continued:”Further, ZAMMSA has initiated bulk procurements with short lead times through the Unified Procurement Authority (UPA) of Egypt and the Untied Nations Agencies like United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to address the stock imbalances in the medicines and medical supplies in the country. Through UNICEF the procurement is valued at $13.8 million, while the Nations Development Programme (UNDP) procurement is valued at $9.4 million to secure the reproductive health commodities, we are working with UNFPA to procure commodities valued at $2 million. The awarding of the procurement contracts to these agents will lead to shorter delivery lead times and not allow for supply chain disruptions.”
Mr. Haimbe said the Ministry of Health is seeking to improve the procurement cycle, including reviewing the Public Procurement Act 2020.
“ZAMMSA has also awarded contracts for Anesthetics medicines, Cancer Medicines, Dental Commodities, Orthopedic Trauma and Maxillofacial commodities to last over a year once delivered.Furthermore ZAMMSA has awarded running framework contracts to Local Manufactures of essential medicines this has led to increased manufacturing capacity which has since improved delivery of essential medicines from the Local Supplies. The government under the leadership of President Hakainde Hichilema is committed to improve the availability of essential medicines and medical supplies by the end of second quarter 2023.”
“In the third quarter the World Health Organization (WHO) target of 70% stock availability will be achieved as the country will experience an improvement in the supply of essential health commodities. Ministry of Health is actively working with ZAMMSA to ensure commodity security for the public health supply chain. And I would like to assure the public that the country is well positioned to address the current stock imbalances in our public health facilities.Once the Health Center Kits and the bulk procurements come in, there will be significant improvement in commodity availability in our health facilities.My ministry is working round the clock to unlock all rigidities in the procurement cycle, including reviewing the Public Procurement Act 2020, to ensure it is aligned to support the specialized nature of medicines and medical suppliers for a health sector,” Mr. Haimbe concluded.
Where is masebo? Has she been evacuated for medical treatment. Can we respect her privacy. Being sick is not sin
When Edgar won the PF presidency, Masebo resigned from the PF citing the health status of Edgar: I don’t want to preside over a national mourning so soon after Michael Sata’s…. paraphrase
You are always on Social media commenting rubbish and you don’t know where she is?
She is among other Health Ministers attending the Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting 2023 in Geneva.
Katana let me guess, you will soon tell us that she is jogging and fit. She can use meetings as an excuse to seek medical attention while we the poor people here remain without medication in hospitals. Pathetic useless govt
42.2% ? Some hospital which I attended has zero. Anyway you sound better than Silvia.
It is better than in DRC……..
Go to sleep.
What did you attend for if I may politely ask sir?
I go for my periodicals. Was given a prescription note to take to private pharmacy.
Spaka your white husband is waiting for you. DRC is much better because they don’t use graphs and percentages. Just pay them a visit.
Lol, white husband!
Tarino Orange.. no need to be too polite. Just ask and it shall be given.
Deja Vu
May 27, 2023 At 2:19 pm
“I go for my periodicals…….”
The congolese making the best out of free medical care in zambia………
If we collect all these percentages on medical supplies that have been announced in the past two years one will need another graph to confuse us some more. Firstly the VP had her figures and then Masebo has her own figures. Then we have had accusations that nurses are stealing on not communicating enough. What this government does not understand is that we are the ones who go to these hospitals. We do not need explanations and graphs. We need to see the medicines in hospitals and cost of commodities being bearable.
Perhaps they can also come up with a graph on how their popularity has plummeted.
It’s the money in the accounts and pockets of you PF theives that has plummeted……….
Come 2031 , UPND wil carry the day……
This is now confusing. Hon. Masebo says drugs are now at 95%%.the president said there is medicine in the hospital its PF stealing. The minister says its 42%.stock. Who is saying the truth now. It’s difficult to defend my party. Too many lies
It is not confusing because there is no medicine in hospitals. Even the graphs were not confusing. Just check the price of fuel, mealie meal, electricity fertilizer and plot them on a graph then everything will be clear.
They are using a descending graph when the medicine availability should go up, it’s dropping. The Constant is “lies” and the Variable is medicine inavailability, going down in percentage points. And they call themselves educated. Malabishi.
It turns out that this group called upnd are worse off than patriotic front. Mark my words. From the look of things they don’t know what they are doing! Job on training is extremely dangerous this is the more reason why when one is seeking for employment companies to ask for experience…We are in a try and error government. Rubbish
The whole medical supply chain needed yo be rebuild from scratch……….
Cottupt indinsns conniving with PF were ripping off zambia with over priced below standard , some times expired drugs……
The syndicates of PF theives and zambian indians would even be charging for none delivered drugs
The gangs have been dismantled
Using racial slurs and using foreigners to create an atmosphere of hate is shifting attention from failures of government. Indians, chinese, British, Zimbabweans, Zambians, Kenyans, Americans the whole humanity has strengths and weaknesses. HH is not a holier person. He was and is a part of deal cut mafia, run by a few connected indigenous and foreign Zambians.
Upnd is a government of lie trained to be lying by liars.
Here is another reason why HH needs a reshuffle to freshen up his cabinet..you can not get it right first time around and moving people around also reduces corruption. You are not running a company Hakainde!!
The question we should be asking is how did he get this 42.2%…show us a graph or a distribution map not just barking numbers and percentages!!
They must plot a graph so we can see the trend.
How much medical supplies is required countrywide? What was the imported figure? Where are the medicines, Zamra (Lusaka) or respective hospitals? Either these are half truths or blue lies.
The thing with lies, no matter how good you are at telling lies they always catch up. They tried to lie to us about the Kariba, about smuggling and about medicine being available. Now they are talking percentages and shipment. We do not have drugs because the government is more concerned about fixing PF than service delivery.
Efilekana ba Father ifi, what is 42.2% iwe mwana, explain to the people. Don’t think everyone who voted for you went to school. They had no money like your parents were.
It’s a government of meaningless graphs and figures. There’s no medicine in hospital countrywide. As an acting Minister, take a tour of Lusaka health centres and check on your own then come we talk. This statement is annoying, but then we are now getting used to empty talk right from the top. Some are saying rhetoric but they mean empty jabber