Staff reporter
The new National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm) Warehouse at Sally Mugabe Hospital in Harare is set to significantly improve the operational efficiency in access to medicines, drugs and medical consumables in line with Government’s quest to improve the country’s health service delivery system.
This was said by President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday during the handover and commissioning of the warehouse.
“This increase (in the storage capacity of the warehouse) is set to significantly improve the operational efficiency in the access of medicines, drugs and medical consumables in our health services delivery system and further enhance our quest to achieve service delivery,” he said.
President Mnangagwa said the pharmaceutical company should see more Zimbabweans having access to vital medicines at a lower cost.
“No Zimbabwean will be left behind as we broaden access to affordable and quality health as well as associated medicines,” he said.
“This particular state of the art warehouse is part of my Government’s efforts towards enhancing access to quality healthcare services and a healthy nation, which is necessary for rapid economic transformation” said President Mnangagwa.
The President said that while the COVID-19 pandemic cast a shadow on the progress of the construction of the warehouse, the construction teams from Zimbabwe persevered nonetheless.
“Under the Second Republic, we are scaling up all programmes and projects for an efficient health delivery system as a precursor for the achievement of an empowered and prosperous upper middle income society by 2030,” the President said.
President Mnangagwa urged the Ministry of Health and Child Care and Natpharm to complement Government’s on-going import substitution strategy by ensuring that procurement of medicines supports the local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals.
“Ultimately, it is my expectation that we must gradually begin to see the shelves of these warehouses being filled up with “Made in Zimbabwe” pharmaceutical products in line with our national Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Strategy.
“Zimbabwe is desirous to urgently reduce the risks associated with disruptions in global supply chains as was experienced during COVID-19 pandemic,” emphasised President Mnangagwa.
The management at Natpharm was directed to explore robust strategies to revive in-house production of some pharmaceutical products, medical consumables and detergents.
