Zim forex crisis chokes Pharmaceutical industry

THE Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe (PSZ) says the country is facing marked drug and equipment shortages on the back of foreign currency shortfalls.
This is despite government’s assertion that the industry continues to be availed the foreign currency that it needs.
The deterioration of local industry over the past decade has created a persistent trade deficit which has plunged the country into an economy-crippling foreign currency crisis.
“We are having supply issues in terms of drugs and medical consumables with pronounced shortages of many drugs on the market both in the private and public sectors. The main cause has been the unavailability of foreign currency to pay for importation of drugs as well as raw materials for those that are locally produced,” Portifa Mwendera, PSZ president said.
He added that the industry needs $12 million every month to meet its manufacturing and importation needs, but it has been getting far less than this despite claims by the Health Ministry that approximately $4 million per week is allocated to the industry.
“Local manufacturers need approximately $2 million a month for local production. Importers had outstanding debt of about $13 million as of early June for goods already supplied. We need to clear the arrears to allow for continued trade while we need about $10 million monthly for uninterrupted adequate supply of medication and medical supplies.
“The $4 million a week if provided, would be adequate for all our needs. Unfortunately this has not been coming at all…we have requested through the Minister of Health and Childcare for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to avail information about whom they have been allocating the US$4 million they reportedly are availing to our industry. Sad to note that this has not been heeded and industry reports show that we have not been getting the said allocation,” Mwendera said.
However, Gerald Gwinji, the permanent secretary in the Health Ministry, said the central bank was doing its best to provide the scarce commodity under the current harsh environment. He said the industry had not run out of medicine but had suffered supply delays as a result of the staggered payments.
“We have engaged the RBZ and they have made a commitment to provide approximately $4 million of foreign currency every week, they have met this at times but other times they have had to reprioritise and not meet quite the full amount. This results in slight delays for our importers…we have not run out of medicines as reported on social media, but yes, there are challenges in terms of the timeous delivery of some of these medicines,” he said.
A local pharmacist who requested anonymity, told this publication that the industry had faced supply challenges which are spread across imported and locally manufactured pharmaceuticals.
“We have been having challenges with some imported products as well as some locally manufactured pharmaceuticals. The shortages are so serious that if you had not created significant stock piles of certain products as a pharmacy, you will not be able to replenish your shelves,” the pharmacist said.
Gwinji said the delays resultant from the staggered foreign currency allocations had created a situation where the country has not been able to build buffer stocks.
“We have had challenges in keeping a certain minimum stock levels which we usually want to build up to at least six months or even a year…what we are doing now is that whatever is coming in we are immediately consuming…this is dangerous in its own way, that if you eat into that buffer stock, should things happen and your pipeline is temporarily disrupted, you then can’t get clients to get the medications they require,” he said.
“However we continue working very closely with the importers themselves, the pharmaceutical industry, the reserve bank and ourselves to ensure that health continues to get the priority that it was afforded in terms of accessing foreign currency,” he added.
The country’s economic woes over the past 20 years — which have not been limited to foreign currency shortages — have stagnated the country’s economy, choking government’s ability to support healthcare through the fiscus.
As a result, public investment in the healthcare sector has been thin over the years with donor funding reportedly being the primary support framework of the sector.
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