Zimbabwe News Update
newzimbabwe_improved
4 min read
ZIMBABWE has stepped in to help neighbouring Botswana with a consignment of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs), sending a batch that combines both a donation and a loan as Gaborone grapples with temporary shortages in its HIV treatment programme. According to a statement from the Botswana Embassy in Harare, trucks carrying the life-saving medicines departed Zimbabwe earlier this week under a bilateral arrangement that includes 20% of the consignment as a donation and 80% as a loan to be reimbursed in ARVs. “The government of the Republic of Zimbabwe extended a generous gesture to the Republic of Botswana through a loan facility, with 20% of the consignment as a donation and 80% provided as a loan to be reimbursed in the form of ARVs,” the Embassy of Botswana in Zimbabwe said.
Botswana’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Sarah Molosiwa, conveyed her government’s appreciation on behalf of President Duma Gideon Boko, describing the shipment as “a vital gesture of solidarity” between two friendly nations. Ambassador Molosiwa was received and briefed by NatPharm Managing Director Newman Mazikwa before the convoy’s departure. The Botswana Ministry of Health and Wellness confirmed on Thursday that the ARVs had arrived in Gaborone.
In a statement posted to its verified Facebook page, the ministry said the consignment would help stabilise the country’s ARV supply chain after procurement delays had caused concern among patients and health facilities. “Loaning medicines and medical commodities is a common practice for countries that are friendly to each other as Botswana is to its neighbours,” the ministry said. “This will help stabilise the ARV situation in the country.” Zimbabwe’s growing pharmaceutical power The emergency shipment underscores Zimbabwe’s growing pharmaceutical and logistics capacity, which has seen a sharp turnaround under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s drive to boost local manufacturing and health-sector self-sufficiency.
Read the full article
