MEDICAL STORES TRANSFORMATION BEGINS

MBABANE – A Zambia -registered company has been engaged for the transformation of the Central Medical Stores (CMS).

True to the ‘Nkwe’ mantra in addressing the drugs crisis in the country, the transformation of the CMS has started, as the consultancy that will usher the country into a new dawn has been on the ground since last month. An organisation that is registered in Zambia and also in the United States of America (USA), The Partnership for Improving Supply Chain Management in Africa (PICMA), is the company that has been engaged to assist in the transformation of the CMS.

The engagement and the name of the company was revealed during the Prime Minister (PM), Russell Dlamini’s tour of the CMS, on Wednesday. The PM shared that the transformation by PICMA should bring improved supply chains. PICMA is a regional African organisation that envisions strong, sustainable and locally-led health supply chains throughout the continent. According to their website, PICMA weaves together more than 20 years of supply chain experience, geographic presence in over 30 African countries and a deep understanding of local contexts to provide a comprehensive suite of technically sound, locally-owned, and sustainable solutions. “We are registered in both Zambia and the United States, where we qualify as a US small business,” reads the information shared on the organisation’s website.

Efficient

PICMA utilises a range of proprietary digital tools and systems to help build more reliable, efficient and agile supply chains and, has a good track record in improving public health supply chains. Currently, the CMS operates as a department of the Ministry of Health. In its transformation, it will be a semi-autonomous entity. The transformation of the CMS is made to improve its efficiency. Cabinet approved the transformation of CMS this year. Further, the Global Fund and World Bank have been working with government to fast-track the CMS transformation process and E80 million was pledged for the exercise.

Before the PM’s tour, the Minister for Health, Mduduzi Matsebula, during the ministry’s Second Quarter Performance Budget debate by the Senate Portfolio Committee, which was held on November 18, 2024, told the senators that the firm had already been on the ground for over a week. This means the firm has been on the ground for almost a month. The transformation of the CMS comes at a time when the health sector is on the verge of collapsing, despite government spending E10 billion in the past five years for procurement of medical drugs and supplies.

According to an audit report in the drug requisition to public health facilities, there has been a number of contributing factors to the acute shortage. These included incoherent supply chains, stealing of drugs, as well as poor controls. In a meeting that was held in June when the Global Fund representatives visited the country, attended by the ministry of Health Parliament Portfolio Committees, the country was advised to model Lesotho’s CMS in order to improve efficiency.

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