Zambia's Drug Cost-Sharing Proposed

Zambian Health Minister Katele Kalumba has urged medical officials to develop a drug policy in which the cost of drugs would be shared between health institutions and patients. Speaking in Lusaka, he said a revolving fund for drugs should be set up to avoid government dependence on donors for their purchase, and he condemned the present system used by the tender board for awarding drugs contracts to health institutions based on price rather than quality.

Christer Agren of the Swedish Embassy in Zambia noted that the development of a national drug policy was an important step in dealing with some of the major problems in the country's health sector. Complex and potentially politically-sensitive issues needed to be addressed to improve the drug supply situation, he said. Sweden is supporting Zambia's health reforms through the Swedish International Development Agency.