Source: The Herald – Breaking news.
Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Douglas Mombeshora, recently said there was no need to press the panic button as the Government was pulling all the stops to make sure the country has enough stocks for HIV and Aids drugs and others for diseases such as malaria. 
George Maponga-Masvingo Bureau
GOVERNMENT has allayed fears of an impending shortage of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) as the country has sufficient stocks of drugs after US$12 million was made available to import the life-saving drugs which will last the nation until September this year.
There were fears the country could be plagued by a shortage of ARVs in the wake of reports that the US Government was withdrawing aid for critical areas such as the fight against HIV and Aids and other pandemics under a new pivot by the administration of President Donald Trump.
With the US government being a major bilateral donor to Zimbabwe’s health sector directly and through the Global Fund for fighting against HIV and Aids, there were fears the country could be caught off guard by Washington’s withdrawal.
However, the Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Douglas Mombeshora, recently said there was no need to press the panic button as the Government was pulling all the stops to make sure the country has enough stocks for HIV and Aids drugs and others for diseases such as malaria.
Minister Mombeshora told journalists attending a National Aids Council(NAC) media workshop in Chinhoyi that Zimbabwe would soon take delivery of HIV and Aids drugs sufficient to last the nation up to September this year.
He said the Government had put in place strategies to assuage the effects of an abrupt cut in funding by the United States Government.
“We have put in place strategies to make sure that our people are not vulnerable and I want to assure the nation that we have enough stocks of ARVs for all those in need and those who need them so there is no need to panic. By the end of June we will be receiving new stocks so don’t panic,’’ said Minister Mombeshora.
“We have made available US$12 million to import more drugs and this means the additional stock of drugs will now take us up to the end of September so there is no need to panic. We purchase these drugs in batches so that we don’t run out”.
The minister revealed that the Government was looking at other avenues to raise funds to procure ARVs other than relying on the Aids levy only.
Government was reprioritising to make sure first preference was given to procurement of ARVs and medication for other diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis that were mainly covered by US aid.
Minister Mombeshora said conservative estimates showed that support from the US government in terms of fighting HIV and Aids together with malaria and tuberculosis was around 36 percent.
“To cover for the 36 percent funding gap that has been created we are reprioritising the provision of these drugs (ARVs, TB and Malaria) so that there are no consequences and our people do not die,’’ said Minister Mombeshora.
“We are guided by the President Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa’s philosophy that Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo, and we are doing that in the health sector too, if we get donors they are welcome but they must be a bonus.’’
According to the Minister, there has been a remarkable decline in new HIV and Aids infections in the country that has resulted in the achievement of the 95-95-95 target.
“However, we cannot afford to be complacent, we must continue to work especially targeting specific vulnerable populations such as sex workers and adolescents,’’ said the Minister.
Zimbabwe was also on the cusp of a new dawn with Minister Mombeshora announcing that plans to introduce a National Health Insurance Scheme that would cover every Zimbabwean were in the pipeline.
He said the Ministry of Finance would work out the modalities of how funds for the scheme would be raised and the amounts involved but pointed out that proceeds from the scheme would also mobilise sufficient funding to equip the country’s health sector and give every citizen health insurance.
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