Prosper Ndlovu in MOSCOW, Russia
ZIMBABWE is leveraging Russian automation technology to build local capacity to manufacture medicines for non-communicable diseases, including diabetes and cancer.
Public Health Advisor to the President and Cabinet, Dr Agness Mahomva, said this here emphasising that the move was informed by Covid-19 lessons when the country struggled to access vaccines and PCR materials.
“Remember we are saying we cannot just depend on other countries to do things for us,” she said.
Dr Mahomva, who is part of the team led by Vice President Cde Kembo Mohadi for the Moscow business visit, said a preliminary tour of Russian pharmaceutical plants showed advanced systems Zimbabwe can tap into.
“We saw how their manufacturing in for example cancer medicines… well automated clearly with the right data being captured,” she said.
“Which really links to this visit right here is the Non-Communicable Disease aspect… the diabetes, the cancers and so on.”
Dr Mahomva said Zimbabwe is ready for such partnerships after the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe recently attained WHO Maturity Level 4 status.
More to follow …..
