Judith Phiri
THE National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm) has received essential medicine supplies at its Bulawayo regional warehouse, raising hopes of improved availability at health facilities across the Matabeleland region, amid calls for faster distribution to ensure patients benefit from the stocks.
The supplies include essential medicines such as paracetamol and normal saline, which had reportedly been unavailable for some time.
NatPharm board chairperson, Professor Chiratidzo Ellen Ndhlovu, said having medicines in warehouses should not be mistaken for effective service delivery, emphasising the need to ensure that available stocks reach hospitals and clinics.
She was speaking after touring NatPharm’s Bulawayo regional warehouse on Tuesday.
“When you come into a warehouse like this and you find there is a lot of stuff in the warehouse, you could say it means we have a lot of stock,” she said.
“The question is, is it what we really need, what’s in there, and also should we have a warehouse that is full of stuff or should this stuff have been distributed and gone to the facilities?”
Prof Ndhlovu said she was encouraged by the availability of medicines that healthcare facilities had reportedly gone without for some time.
She expressed satisfaction with the Bulawayo warehouse’s handling of deliveries under the Zimbabwe Assisted Pull System (ZAPS), saying the regional operation appeared to be performing better than the situation reported in Harare, where delays in fulfilling orders had raised concerns about timely deliveries to health facilities.
Prof Ndhlovu said the warehouse appeared to have a reliable electricity supply, with solar panels installed since her previous visit, although further infrastructure improvements were necessary.
“I’m happy they do not seem to be having problems with their electricity. Last time I came here, they did not have the solar panels,” she said.
“We are glad that they are working well, but there are obviously issues with the infrastructure. They need to make sure they sort out the roofing. The infrastructure needs to be renovated, but in terms of stock they seem to be okay.”
The visit comes as NatPharm reviews its operations and strategic priorities at a workshop being held in Bulawayo.
Prof Ndhlovu said the organisation needed to strengthen strategic planning, corporate governance and operational efficiency to improve its capacity to procure and distribute medicines.
She identified inadequate funding as a major constraint, saying NatPharm required sufficient resources to procure the medicines needed by the country’s healthcare system.
“We still have to put the strategy together in terms of what it is that we are going to do that is better than what we did last year,” said Prof Ndhlovu.
“The bottom line is obviously the fact that NatPharm needs funding to be able to buy the stocks that are required so that we can deliver the medicines as required by the nation.”
She identified technology as a key priority, calling for the strengthening of NatPharm’s Enterprise Resource Management System and a shift away from manual processes.
Prof Ndhlovu said the system should facilitate real-time tracking of medicine procurement, warehouse stocks, distribution, deliveries and funding, improving visibility across the supply chain.
She said adopting information and communication technologies, including artificial intelligence where appropriate, could improve operational efficiency, strengthen accountability and help curb pilferage and losses.
An integrated digital system would also enable NatPharm to monitor the movement of medicines from procurement to delivery at healthcare facilities, allowing management to identify delays and address weaknesses in the distribution chain.
