The exercise which commenced on Saturday, 14th July 2024, involves the movement of containers carrying assorted health commodities from the private depot in Lusaka's Makeni area where they were being held. Following intervention by the Government through the Ministry of Health for the transporter to release the consignment.
With the progress made so far, ZAMMSA expects to complete the offloading exercise by next week Friday, 26th July 2024. The consignment is part of the government-to-government bulk procurement of Medicines and Medical Supplies at the total cost of $24 million from the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The public may wish to know that of the 61 containers, 23 containers carrying Intravenous (IV) Fluids and Syringes arrived between January and April 2024 while the remaining 38 containers carrying assorted essential medicines arrived in the country in June 2024. The earliest expiry date for all the commodities is July 2026, and no wastage has been recorded yet.
ZAMMSA wishes to assure the public that working closely with the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA), steps to ensure the safety and efficacy of all commodities have since been initiated. All products will undergo thorough quality assurance tests before distribution to health facilities to guarantee the safety of the Zambian people.
As ZAMMSA we are deeply concerned with the recent developments and we empathize with the Zambian people. And in this regard, we are committed to ensuring that we adhere to all public health supply chain management regulations. As per standard operating procedures, we will conform to the laid out guidelines as recommended by relevant authorities.
Signed:
Bradley Chingobe
Senior Manager-Corporate Communications