Zambian Govt. denies shortage of disease's drugs

June 20, 2017 7:26 AM

Wezi Kaonga said TB patients on the Copperbelt province should not worry because there was no shortage of the drug.

About one in five TB cases are resistant to at least one antibiotic, and about five percent are so-called multidrug resistant (MDR-TB) strains

The Zambian Government on Monday denied reports that there was a serious shortage of Tuberculosis (TB) drugs in the country, especially on the Copperbelt province.

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Ministry of Health acting spokesperson Wezi Kaonga said TB patients on the Copperbelt province should not worry because there was no shortage of the drug.

The country, he said, had adequate drugs both at provincial level and at the Medical Stores, a government agency responsible for the purchase and storage of drugs.

“We would like to refute media reports that there is a shortage of TB drugs on the Copperbelt because the province has been accessing medicine from Medical Stores and is distributing to all facilities,’’ he said.

The ministry was working with its cooperating partners to continue strengthening the supply chain and further ensuring that the supply of medicines countrywide was not interrupted, he added.