PRESIDENT JOHN MAGUFULI: PUT CASH INTO DRUG PLANTS

President John Magufuli thanks Mr Linden Morrison, Head of the Global Fund's High Impact Africa II Department, when the President launched 181 trucks donated by the Fund to the Medical Stores Department (MSD) at an event held in Dar es Salaam on Monday. MSD is an autonomous department of the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children that is responsible for the procurement, storage and distribution of essential drugs and other medical supplies.

President John Magufuli has wooed local and foreign investors to set up pharmaceutical plants in Tanzania to reap from over 500bn/- annual allocations of money for purchase of drugs and associated supplies, 94 per cent of which is currently imported.

“Available statistics indicate that only six per cent of medicines and other medical supplies are sourced locally … this is a challenge to our local drug manufacturing plants … they should enable us to retain those funds and create jobs for our people.

“The ministry responsible for health could alternatively engage local investors and provide them with loans to establish the factories and recover the money when they start supplying the deliveries to the government,” he proposed. Dr Magufuli made the call in Dar es Salaam on Monday at an event to receive 181 vehicles valued at 20.5bn/- donated to the Medical Stores Department by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Donation of the new vehicles has increased to 213 the fleet of MSD delivery vans, up from just 32 automobiles. The government’s annual budget for medicines, reagents and medical supplies has jumped from just 31bn/- in the past few years to 269bn/- in the current fiscal year, with additional funds from development partners adding up to over 500bn/- per annum. President Magufuli urged local clerics to shun giving sermons on issues which were not pertinent to the development of the country and instead preach establishment of industries for improved welfare of Tanzanians.

“It is high time we mobilised our armies, local investors, retired medical doctors and pharmacists to establish pharmaceutical industries in Tanzania. This will enable us retain a large chunk of funds allocated for the supplies each year,” he urged. The Head of State expressed concern that even with cotton farming in Tanzania the country still imported medical cotton wool for use in local health facilities.

“It beats my conscience why we cannot produce even syringes, distilled water … yet we have technologies to produce plastics and bottled water among others,” he wondered, adding: “The government of Tanzania puts a lot of emphasis in the health sector and that is why the budget for the sector has been increasing from 1.9tri/- during FY 2016/2017 to 2.2trl/- in 2017/2018”. The president acknowledged the Global Fund for its financial support to Tanzania’s health sector, now amounting to 1.9trl/- over the past three years.

In July last year, the Fund signed with the government yet another financial support of $595 million (about 1.1trl/-) which is expected to cover this year and 2020. Earlier, the Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu, explained that increased investments in the health sector had significantly improved provision of specialised treatments which were previously conducted abroad.

The Minister cited the treatment as cochlear implants which are now conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital. The service is done at about 30m/- locally and yet the same used to cost about 100m/- abroad

Ms Mwalimu assured President Magufuli that her ministry was working to roll out kidney implants at MNH and Benjamin Mkapa Hospital in Dodoma, explaining further that heart patients who previously required treatment abroad can access the same at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI).

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