 for distributing essential medicines in Muchinga Province){kind=link}
Zambia: Government has applausws the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) for ensuring distribution of essential medicines in Muchinga Province. The members of the community have shared that the initiative is meant to support the members of the
Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) Lead for Communication and Outreach Besa Kanyanyamina and her team accompanied by Mpika District Commissioner David Siame and Mpika district health officials said this during a tour of ZAMMSA Medical Hub in Mpika District.
Kanyanyamina, said that government desires that medicines reach the intended beneficiaries.
She mentioned that the visit by PDU is to ensure accountability in the distribution of medicines to the people who need the support
“This engagement with medical hub personnel is about how the patients receive care, ensuring that the drugs being distributed reach the people and that facilities have clear frameworks to ensure that distribution to the patients is effective,” Ms Kanyanyamina said.
Further Siame has also urged the district health office and ZAMMSA to work towards ensuring that no health facility runs out of essential medicines.
Mr Siame said patients are sometimes turned away from health facility pharmacies because prescribed medicines are out of stock when in actual fact such medicines are in stock at the hub.
“You may find that a facility has run out of malaria medicine because malaria is on the rise in the area and patients are being turned away when, here at the hub, those medicines are still in stock. So work together,” Siame said.
Meanwhile, ZAMMSA Mpika Hub Manager Matthews Fwambo said the hub services Muchinga and part of Northern Province. “We are servicing facilities from seven districts in Northern Province, and the entire Muchinga Province,” Fwambo said.
He added that medicines are distributed within 14 days of being received from Lusaka. Fwambo further said health facilities receive medicines according to what they ordered from Lusaka. The manager further highlighted that ZAMMSA and the Provincial Health Office ensure that medicines are well stored once received at the facility.