Debra Matabvu
The National Pharmaceutical Company (Natpharm) has begun round-the-clock dispatches to ensure that health institutions timeously get their orders.
As a result, drug supplies have markedly improved over the past week owing to steady inflows, especially after the recent $25 million drug supply tender.
While there have been complaints over bottlenecks in distributing drugs, Natpharm has resorted to prompt dispatch of medical supplies to hospitals and health delivery centres. Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Mr John Mangwiro told The Sunday Mail that the availability of drugs is set to gradually improve.
“The availability of drugs is slowly improving.
‘‘We have realised that there is an improvement following the floating of the tender.
“Some suppliers have been facing difficulties in manufacturing drugs due to lack of foreign currency. However, we will continue engaging the Ministry of Finance (and Economic Development) on the issue,” he said.
Natpharm managing director Mrs Flora Sifeku also noted that foreign currency shortages were the major impediment in promoting local production of drugs.
“Drugs are slowly trickling in and we are distributing them the moment they arrive in order to avoid congestion. Whatever comes into our store room, we immediately dispatch.
“We had floated a 48-hour tender for supply of drugs with payment in RTGS. However, some of the suppliers have been facing challenges due to unavailability of foreign currency.
“For instance, we had requested for 200 000 tins of paracetamol but the contractor could only supply 20 000 tins,” she said.
Natpharm recently received 14 trucks of anti-retroviral drugs from the Global Fund for the new treatment regime that will begin soon.
The company is presently working on the distribution list.
It is believed that there have been serious leakages of essential drugs to the black market and Government is putting measures to plug the haemorrhage.