Controversial Honeybee medicines recently supplied to Kabwe Central Hospital yet to be dispensed to patients

Central Province Permanent Secretary Milner Mwanakampwe has assured the public that the controversial Honeybee medicines recently supplied to Kabwe Central Hospital was yet to be dispensed to patients when it was returned to the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA).

Mr. Mwanakampwe has confirmed that ZAMMSA recently distributed paracetamol commonly known as panadol which is under quality control to Kabwe Central Hospital.

The Central Province Permanent Secretary expressed disappointment over the supplying of the Honeybee procured paracetamol to the main health institution in the province.

Mr. Mwanakampwe questioned why ZAMMSA supplied the medicine in question.

The same drugs were also distributed to Kasama Central Hospital.

“Central Province unfortunately is one of the provinces that received what you might want to call the Honeybee medicines. Yes you got me right, Honeybee on 14th January 2022, ZAMMSA dispatched a vehicle containing medicines among the medicines were paracetamol to the tune of 100 bottles by 1000 for adults and 50 by 1000 for pediatrics or young children if you like. This medicine is still in question and I want to assure the people of Central Province, the people of Zambia that as Government we will do everything possible to make sure that nothing irregular nothing illegal is done so we made sure that the medicine is quarantined as soon as it was discovered that they were Honeybee drugs,” Mr. Mwanakampwe said.

Mr. Mwanakampwe has since demanded a report from the concerned authorities over the incident.

“But maybe the question that requires us to sincerely answer is that the Honeybee scandal happened in about 2020 and then someone decides to offload these medicines in 2022. Who un-quarantined the medicines where they were quarantined at ZAMMSA? Maybe these are questions that will require answers at some point so we have asked for a report on the matter. So to just assure the people, that none of our people has consumed those questionable medicines that were sent to Central Province, Kabwe Central Hospital to be precise.”

“They (medicines) were returned as soon as it was discovered on 7th February, they were returned to ZAMMSA and everything was done to make sure that the dispatch note is also clearly labeled that what they had brought is exactly what was taken back. So I thought I should clarify that and mention that we care about the people of Zambia and as such anything that is injurious to their lives we will make sure that it does not happen,” Mr. Mwanakampwe said.

Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) has clarified that the honeybee medicines that were distributed to Kabwe and Kasama General Hospitals were shipped to the two institutions by error.

ZAMMSA has since unreservedly apologized to the general public for the anomaly in the distribution of medicines.

ZAMMSA Public Relations Manager Patricia Ndulinga says the Agency immediately contacted and collected the products from the two affected facilities after the anomaly was detected.

Ms Nndulinga admitted that the internal reviews conducted have indicated that the product was under Quality Control and should not have been distributed to Kasama and Kabwe Hospitals.

Meanwhile, the Zambia Medical Association (ZMA) is disappointed by revelations that the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) supplied the Honeybee drugs to health facilities.

ZMA Secretary-General Kaumba Tolopo says as the association knows that errors in the supply chain management of pharmaceutics are bound to occur, ZAMMSA should have been extra cautious in dispatching any medical products related to the same vendor.

In a media statement to ZNBC News, Dr. Tolopo said an effective early detection and intervention system is key to avoiding such occurrences especially in view of the health center kit saga which is in the public domain.