The Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) has intensified efforts to ensure equitable distribution of Medical Health Centre kits country wide.
Nearly all 43 health facilities in Chongwe district of Lusaka Province have received their supplies.
At Chifwema Mini-Hospital, the number of community members going to receive professional medical healthcare has increased, adding that the situation is the same at Lwimba health center and other health facilities.
At Mulalika health post, facility in charge, Calvin Malasa confirmed that the facility has enough medicine to cover the next three months.
“We received Centre kits from ZAMMSA and we are no longer issuing prescriptions to patients”.
A check at Lwimba health post, Officer in charge Ngangula Given lauded ZAMMSA for the supplies, saying that the arrival of medicine at the facility is long overdue.
“As you know it hurts a lot as a health worker, issuing a prescription to a patient to go buy medicine when you know that this patient has no capacity whatsoever to buy drugs, this is really a good development,” he said.
At Ndapula Mini-Hospial Nurse –Incharge Lisomona Elizabeth said the facility has enough essential drugs it received from ZAMMSA.
And Chongwe District Health Director, Mweene Nseluke, stressed that the district will ensure no single pill is stolen from health facilities.
On 16th May 2023, a team comprising officers from Ministry of Health (MoH) and Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) conducted a pre-shipment inspection of the Missionpharma Logistics India Pvt Ltd kit assembly facility in Kandla, Gujarat, India to fulfil the contractual requirement before shipment of the 42,000 Health Centre kits procured by ZAMMSA on behalf of the Government.
The pre shipment exercise was witnessed by two Members of Parliament who are also members of the Parliamentary Committee on Health, whose presence added impetus to delivery of the much-needed supplies to the nation.
The delivery of the initial 7,000 Health Centre Kits has since been met by Missionpharma who delivered within the last week of June 2023.
ZAMMSA, the government agency, mandated with procurement, storage and distribution of medicines and medical supplies, has immediately kick-started the nationwide distribution of the health center kits to the service delivery point (SDP).
The ZAMMSA team has heightened efforts to ensure equitable distribution of the key supplies which cover over 96% of the national supply chain, making the health center kits the backbone of the supply chain within the shortest possible time.
So far almost all provinces have since received their supplies.
ZAMMSA working with other government agencies, such as the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) is conducting a media follow up through the distribution of the centre kits to ensure the right people receive the lifesaving medicines.
To this effect a team of pharmaceutical media experts have been engaged to conduct a media destination check within the supply chain.
Chongwe the constituency where the Minister of Health comes from has received the first New Dawn kits since August 2021. Laughable
You read this “So far almost all provinces have since received their supplies.” but you still want to raise an issue? Now that is laughable!