Zimbabwe medicine stocks secure for now

Background of a large group of assorted capsules, pills and blisters Health themes: Background of a large group of assorted capsules, pills and blisters. Drug abuse. tablets stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images

Philemon Jambaya

Zim Now Editor

Zimbabwe has reassured its citizens that vital stocks of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria medications remain sufficient, despite the unexpected withdrawal of funding by the United States Agency for International Development in January. Health and Child Care Minister Dr. Douglas Mombeshora has moved to allay fears of immediate shortages, emphasizing the government's swift action to mitigate the funding gap.

"So we have enough stocks up to the end of June," Dr. Mombeshora confirmed. "But the stocks which were meant to cover the period from the end of June to the end of November have been halted. We cannot predict what will happen after the 90 days, but we expect to refuel the entire program."

The United States has indicated a review of the funding freeze after a 90-day period, offering a glimmer of hope. In the interim, the minister stressed the importance of continued adherence to treatment regimens. "In terms of service delivery, for those on HIV, TB, and malaria treatment, there will be no disruption. No one should change the way they are taking their medicine," he urged.

To ensure uninterrupted supply, the government has already initiated procurement processes. "The challenges that remain are related to procurement. We had medicines for HIV, TB, and malaria that had been procured, but these came in phases," Dr. Mombeshora explained. "Now, what we have done as a government is to mobilize the necessary resources. And I think today, some of you may have seen in the papers that we have actually floated a tender for procurement of medicines. This will cover us from June to the end of September, depending on how other resources are managed."

The sudden funding withdrawal caught the government off guard, creating a significant logistical and financial challenge. "Let me start by saying the executive order from the President of the United States came as a surprise in January," Dr. Mombeshora admitted. "We had workers at the primary healthcare level and our village healthcare workers, almost 19,000 of them, who were being paid by our partners. We also had over 8,000 nurses, some of whom were not in our opportunistic infection clinics. Most of these workers were involved in HIV, AIDS, TB, and malaria programs, so these are the programs that have been mainly affected by the executive order."

However, the government's rapid response prevented a major service disruption. "This disruption only lasted a few days, and we stepped in to deploy our nurses to fill the gap," the minister stated. "There were also a number of doctors and people working in laboratory services and administration. But we ensured that services were not disrupted by the absence of relief workers."

The 90-day waiver from the US has provided temporary relief, allowing previously funded healthcare workers to return to their duties. "So the nurses who were involved in the treatment clinics were ordered to return to work, and they are back on duty. Doctors are also working in hospitals, not just doing administrative work, but actively treating patients," Dr. Mombeshora confirmed.