Online Reporter
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Senior Health Reporter
Zimbabwe has launched the ninth edition of the Essential Drugs List and the first National Adult Oncology Treatment Guidelines, marking a major step towards improving access to critical medicines and strengthening evidence-based cancer care.
The two documents, officially launched by Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora recently, are expected to guide medicine selection and treatment protocols across the country’s health system as Government works towards universal health coverage.
Dr Mombeshora said the updated EDLIZ reflected Government’s commitment to ensuring that every Zimbabwean, regardless of where they lived or their economic status, had access to safe, effective and affordable medicines.
“Every medicine included has passed a rigorous, evidence-based selection process assessed for relevance, efficacy, safety, quality, cost-benefit and local manufacturing potential, ensuring each one is safe, efficacious, of assured quality, available, affordable, accessible and rationally used,” he said.
Developed and endorsed by the National Medicines and Therapeutics Policy Advisory Committee (NMTPAC), EDLIZ 2025 was compiled through contributions from health professionals across the country, from rural clinics to central hospitals, and aligns with the World Health Organisation’s Essential Medicines Concept.
The Minister said the launch of the Zimbabwe National Adult Oncology Treatment Guidelines comes at a time when cancer has emerged as one of the country’s major public health challenges.
“Cancer has become a defining health crisis in Zimbabwe. Driven by factors such as HIV comorbidity, lifestyle changes, environmental risks and systemic barriers to early diagnosis, this epidemic demands a response rooted in unity, rationality and compassion,” he said.
He said the guidelines prioritise cancer prevention, early detection and equitable access to treatment, while strengthening referral pathways from primary health care facilities to specialised oncology centres.
Dr Mombeshora urged clinicians, pharmacists, nurses and dispensers to use both documents in their daily practice, adding that Government would continue strengthening the pharmaceutical supply chain, expanding cancer prevention and treatment services and supporting local pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Outgoing NMTPAC chairperson Professor Chiratidzo Ellen Ndhlovu described EDLIZ as more than a medicines handbook, saying it represented a national commitment to equitable healthcare.
“It is not simply a book; it is a national commitment. Every Zimbabwean, regardless of where they live or what they can afford, deserves to have safe, effective and quality medicines,” she said.
Prof Ndhlovu said EDLIZ should be readily accessible to every healthcare worker, whether in printed or digital form, to promote rational prescribing and consistent standards of care.
She noted that the latest edition had been developed through extensive consultation with clinicians across the country to ensure the recommended medicines were not only evidence-based, but also practical and affordable within Zimbabwe’s health system.
“This ninth edition represents collective expertise.
“We need to make sure that what we recommend is something that can be made available in Zimbabwe and be feasible for prescription and use by our healthcare workers,” she said.
Prof Ndhlovu said the updated medicines list would play a critical role in advancing universal health coverage by ensuring essential medicines remained available to all Zimbabweans.
“EDLIZ availability is universal, and this is going to be important for the delivery or implementation of universal health coverage because we are talking about essential medicines that should be made available to all our patients,” she said.
She said regular revisions of the document had become increasingly important as Zimbabwe faced a growing burden of both infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases, including cancer.
Prof Ndhlovu also challenged healthcare workers to embrace evidence-based practice and actively contribute to future revisions of the guidelines by submitting feedback on emerging scientific evidence.
