Sep 23 2011
IRIN reports on "[t]he improved availability of essential medicines in Zimbabwe's public health sector" as a result of "a multi-donor program started in 2008 through collaboration between the government, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) Zimbabwe, the European Union (E.U.), the U.K., Australia, Canada and Ireland." "According to a survey carried out by the E.U., 80 percent of essential medicines are now available at over 80 percent of health facilities compared to only 28 percent availability of vital drugs at public health institutions in 2008," IRIN notes. The news service writes, "To date, the Essential Medicines Supply Programme (EMSP) has received $52 million in funding, according to UNICEF," adding, "The money is used to buy drugs and medical supplies which are distributed to health centers by Natpharm, the supply arm of the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare" (9/20).
This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente. |