Zambian Government in partnership with the Global Funds (GF) has procured 8,000 oxygen cylinders worth US$1.6 million which will be distributed to various health facilities across the country.
Zambia has in the recent past contributed to the Global Fund and has pledged US$5.5 million for the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment, covering 2020-2022.
Zambia is both a donor to the Global Fund and an implementer of Global Fund-supported programs.
Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) Public Relations Manager Patricia Ndulinga, who confirmed the development in a statement, said the gesture was meant to mitigate the stock imbalance of the critical commodity in health facilities.
She said the oxygen cylinders would attend to patients’ needs in health facilities because it was a extremely critical health commodity in the supply chain in meeting service delivery.
She said oxygen cylinders were a critical part of a clinical setup as oxygen therapy was used in emergency rooms, surgical procedures or for patients who require oxygen on a long-term basis for their medical condition.
She said the distribution of the oxygen cylinders had already started with the first recipients being the Kitwe Teaching Hospital, the Solwezi General Hospital and Mukinge Mission Hospital.
She said the National Heart Hospital, Kabwe Central Hospital, Chitambo District Hospital, St. Paul Mission in Nchelenge District, Kalindawalo General Hospital in Petauke District, Lewanika General Hospital, Choma
General Hospital and other health facilities were yet to receive.
Ms Ndulinga said the agency had also received 185 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Ventilators valued at K 24 million with Copperbelt and North-Western provinces having received their allocations and distribution had continued to other health facilities across the country.
She said ZAMMSA had also collaborated with the National Malaria Control Centre (NMCC) to ensure that Indoor Residual Spray (IRS) procured at a total cost of K174 million was delivered to all health facilities across
the country in the shortest possible time.
She said among other essential medicines and medical supplies of different categories delivered to health facilities included analgesics, anti-malarial, laboratory consumables, anti-cancer drugs, paediatric antibiotics and anti-asthmatics.
Others are oral anti-diabetics, vitamins, renal products, medical equipment, anti-coagulants, minerals and Anti-Retroviral (ARV’s).
Ms. Ndulinga said the agency was determined to continue working with all co-operating partners to provide necessities that would help in improving quality healthcare services to the people in all parts of the country in line with Government’s aspirations.
The Global Fund pools the world’s resources to invest strategically in programs to fight HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, build resilient and sustainable systems for health and strengthen pandemic preparedness.
Its financing primarily comes from the public sector, with 94% of the funding coming from donor governments.
The remaining funding comes from the private sector, foundations and innovative financing initiatives.
The Global Fund raises and invests money in three-year cycles known as Replenishments.
This three-year approach was adopted in 2005 to enable more stable and predictable financing for countries and to ensure ongoing program continuity.
The Sixth Replenishment resource mobilization cycle, which ran from 2020-2022, ended last year.
