Health Minister Jonas Chanda, is concerned that the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) is still piling expired medicines in its warehouse that are supposed to be disposed off.
Dr Chanda said there is a danger that these products can find themselves on the market, posing a danger to unsuspecting members of the public.
The Minister said this when he paid an impromptu visit to the ZAMMSA Headquarters Warehouse.
THe said that it was unacceptable to allow the much needed drugs expire in the ZAMMSA warehouses, when Government was investing huge amounts of money to procure them.
Dr Chanda had given a 24 hour ultimate to management at ZAMMSA to provide his office a comprehensive list of all expired drugs in the warehouse and how much they cost.
He said it is regrettable to have drugs and medical supplies expire when the health facilities are experiencing shortages.
He is optimistic that the change in name and functions from Medical Stores Limited to ZAMMSA, will bring to an end wastage of resources through expired drugs as well as end procurement loopholes.
Dr Chanda said his role as Minister was to protect the public and not to harm them.
