Foreign experts to reform medical supply system                                                                                                                                                                                                              By ALISON ANIS
A TEAM of international experts who were tasked byMinister for Health and HIV/AIDS Sasa Zibe to look for ways to reform the current medical supply system, will be presenting their findings at the end of this month.
The team will also make recommendations on future mechanisms for procurement and distribution of medical supplies.
This is an area which Mr Zibe plans to outsource to a private entity.
An open seminar was organised yesterday by the Department of Health.
The experts, attending the seminar, presented some of the medical distribution options from various countries.
They discussed some of the supply strategies for the country’s medical distribution system with stakeholders, private sector and churches.
Five key examples of medical supply system were presented.
Among them was the centralised supply agency that is being practiced in the country.
Others were the autonomous supply agency, direct delivery system, primary distributor system and fully-private agency.
“The seminar focuses on key issues and updates findings of an international team of experts who are currently in the country to look at options for improving drug supply system,” Health Secretary Dr Clement Malau said.
He also questioned why a can of Coke is easily available at some of the most remote places in the country but no access to medical supplies.
Dr Malau said access to medical supplies and services in the rural areas has been a recurrent problem.
“This needs to be addressed seriously,” he said.
The team arrived last Feb 11 and will be in the country until March 1 to present their findings to the minister for drafting into final report.