Government’s Health Supply Chain Efforts Undermine Due to Mismanagement
In a Ministerial Statement delivered to the House, the Zambia’s Minister of Health, Hon. Sylvia T. Masebo MP, outlined the Government’s strategies and efforts to stabilize the availability of medicines and medical supplies in the public health sector.
Despite the commendable procurement strategies, including the acquisition of 42,000 Health Center Kits per year and bulk procurements through government and UN agencies, a significant portion of medical supplies has faced severe logistical mismanagement.
According to Minister Masebo, the Government successfully identified Mission Pharma for the health center kits, resulting in over 90% commodity availability in primary healthcare facilities and 70% in hospitals. Additionally, deliveries through UN agencies such as UNICEF, UNFPA, and UNDP are ongoing.
A Government-to-Government procurement contract with the Unified Procurement Authority (UPA) of the Arab Republic of Egypt, signed in August 2023, facilitated the arrival of the first consignment via air freight in October 2023 without any additional charges. However, subsequent shipments have faced significant issues.
The second shipment of 16 containers arrived in January 2024 but was marooned at a depot in Makeni instead of being offloaded at ZAMMSA.
Similarly, the third shipment in April 2024 saw seven out of 20 containers diverted to the same depot. In June 2024, the fourth shipment of 38 containers was also misdirected, with none delivered to the ZAMMSA warehouse.
In total, out of 74 containers received, only 13 have been offloaded at ZAMMSA. The remaining 61 containers were only addressed after the Ministry of Health intervened last week.
These containers are now being transported to ZAMMSA using Zambia National Service trucks, with the exercise expected to be completed within 10-15 days.
Minister Masebo expressed deep concern over the gross mismanagement and negligence, which she noted bordered on criminality. The matter has been reported to law enforcement agencies for further investigation.
