Govt clears air on STI drug
GOVERNMENT has dismissed reports that there is a shortage of drugs for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), in particular ceftriaxone, saying it has a total of one million doses in stock.
It has also clarified that the 200 000 doses currently held by the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) are of a different brand, which has never been used in Zimbabwe and should therefore be checked for safety and efficacy by the regulator.
In a statement, Health and Child Care secretary Dr Gerald Gwinji said messages circulating on social media that MCAZ had quarantined essential STI medicines in the face of shortages of the commodity in the health system were untrue.
“I need firstly to correct the misinformation that there are shortages of ceftriaxone. We have one million doses of ceftriaxone currently released in the system. We consume about 55 000 doses a month in the system, so we do have enough for the projected needs for quite a while,” said Dr Gwinji.
He said the stock that is held in quarantine is only 200 000 doses of ceftriaxone. He said the particular brand held at MCAZ has also never been used in Zimbabwe, hence should follow due processes of undergoing local safety and efficacy tests.
“The particular brand in question has never been used in the country and the regulator is doing its statutory mandate to ensure we receive a safe and efficacious product by doing their technical due diligence on the product and the manufacturer,” said Dr Gwinji.
He said furthermore, the MCAZ was working within a reasonable time frame to conclude their assessment.
Dr Gwinji said should the product meet the required stand- ard, it will be released into the system to build up buffer stocks.
“We want to assure the population that we are mindful of the need to have access to safe and efficacious medicines and the regulator, MCAZ, is there to do that. In the meantime, we emphasise there is no shortage of ceftriaxone in the public health system,” he said.
Yesterday, social media was awash with news that there was shortage of the STI drug in public health institutions, a shortage which was attributed to bureaucratic procedures in regulating medicines in the country.
“The STI drug shortages are being created by the bureaucratic system.
“We demand that MCAZ release these medicines to save lives,” read part of the message.
STIs remain one of the major public health challenges in Zimbabwe with recent statistics showing an increase in reported cases.