Zambia Medicines Agency appoints hospitals to procure drugs

THE Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) has appointed select hospitals to act as procurement agents for medicines and medical supplies.

According to ZAMMSA, the move aims to increase the availability of essential drugs in healthcare facilities throughout the country.

ZAMMSA director general Victor Nyasulu stated that the agency’s goal is to ensure a consistent supply of medicines, exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended benchmark of 70 percent availability.

Nyasulu said the recent surge in medicine availability, from 63 percent to 73.3 percent was due to a significant increase in government funding allocated to the national drug bank.

The agency credits this growth to a 25 percent budgetary allocation for healthcare, with ZAMMSA receiving a portion of these funds.

“Medicines and medical supplies chain is currently sitting at 25 percent in Zambia because it receives K5 million of the K20 million plus of the health care budget from government,” Nyasulu said.

To ensure long-term sustainability, ZAMMSA identified hospitals including the University Teaching Hospital, Kitwe Teaching Hospital, and Livingstone General Hospital to source essential supplies.

These hospitals will be responsible for procurement, while ZAMMSA will handle payments upon verification of details.

This initiative is expected to streamline procurement processes and expedite the delivery of critical medicines to healthcare facilities across Zambia.

“The appointment is in line with section 36 of the public procurement act 8 of 2020 as amended by the public procurement amended act no 17 of 2023, which permits a procuring entity such as ZMMSA to appoint another entity as its procurement agent to carry out its procurement functions on its behalf.” elaborated Nyasulu.

By Elesani Phiri

Kalemba May 31, 2024