Zim faces shortage of critical drugs as local banks fail to make international transactions for imports

Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe president, Wilfred Gurupira, said they were facing challenges importing drugs owing to the payment systems using their nostro accounts.

Said Gurupira:

We are aware that companies are facing that problem and drugs could run out if the matter is not addressed. We have, however, engaged the companies, banks and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on the matter. We did the same in the last quarter of 2016 and there was some success, but the problem seems to have come up again.

Parirenyatwa Hospital’s chief pharmacist, Davison Vuragu warned that they were only left with two weeks’ supply of the critical atracurium injection due to failure by local banks to honour their international obligations. Zimbabwe Diabetics Association president, Tendai Gutu, said members of her association have already been facing serious shortages of the drug Metphormin in the last quarter of 2016.

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