Essential drugs in short supply (28-06-07)

nts, such as anti-retroviral drugs for the treatment of HIV/Aids, malaria drugs, blood pressure and insulin, among others,” Parirenyatwa said in Chiredzi weekend.
He blamed the situation on Zimbabwe’s lack of foreign currency and said the country was being forced to choose between “having to keep to the basic drugs or importing the exotic, expensive drugs”.
Most of the country’s 1,082 public health centres were reported to be overstocking malaria and cholera medicines in anticipation of the crisis. Although the situation has reached worrying levels, Parirenyatwa emphasised that his ministry “does have funds for the public hospitals and clinics, but not for private hospitals”. A number of foreign Zimbabwean drug suppliers, particularly South African companies, were unwilling to release further supplies until outstanding debts were paid.
Parirenyatwa particularly lamented the lackadaisical approach to fighting killer diseases such as Malaria. He said AIDS had overshadowed other killer diseases such as malaria.