There could be more to the rise in the cost and
unavailability of medicines than meets the eye.
Although Zimbabwe is going through economic hardships, the
way pharmacies are pegging the prices of drugs raises several questions.
A snap survey in Harare last week showed that whilst many
the pharmacies are rejecting medical aid cards, there are also shocking
disparities in pricing at retail outlets that demand payments exclusively in
United States dollars.
In possession of a prescription, we visited pharmacies and
asked for the cost of three antibiotics in Harare’s central business district.
We also spoke to medical practitioners.
In one pharmacy, a huge notice greeted all who entered with
the declaration that all payments were to be made in US dollars.
The three drugs on our prescription were pegged at US$22,
US$18 and US$9. Another pharmacy was selective on which medical aid cards
it accepts.
The pharmacist then took our prescription and checked with
the medical aid society if they would be willing to pay the total bill of
US$125 for the three drugs.
After much consultation, the pharmacist informed us that
the health insurer was willing to pay US$72, leaving us with a US$53 shortfall.
What was also quite telling was the difference in cost from
one pharmacy to the next: a gap of US$76 for the exact same prescription.
It should be noted that at one of the pharmacies we
visited, bond note/debit card payments were accepted, with the three drugs
priced at a total of $64.
One general practitioner who has a pharmacy at his facility
charged US$40 for the medicines.
So why do the prices vary so much from one retailer to the
next? Why is it that some pharmacies can do business in bond notes or via debit
cards while others say they will shut down if they do not insist on US dollar
payments?
Health insurers say foreign currency shortages are behind
the rise in the cost of drugs, which have escalated by as much as 70 percent.
Local manufacturers, who rely on imported inputs, are being
forced to buy foreign currency on the black market, thereby raising cost of
production.
The Association of Healthcare Funders of Zimbabwe, which
groups medical aid societies, has said the insistence on US dollar payments is
unfair on patients.
Zimbabwe imports around 80 percent of its pharmaceutical
needs.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has made greater
self-sufficiency in pharmaceuticals one of his Government’s priorities in the
health sector.
Writing for The Sunday Mail last week, President Mnangagwa
said, “We need foreign currency to import medicines. Foreign exchange earnings
are a function of our ability to export.
“Therein lies the challenge. At no time has this turbulent
link between the state of the economy and the availability of drugs and other
pharmaceutical products in the country been so direct and impactful as in the
past weeks during which our economy has registered sharp shocks and challenges.
“Although we are slowly creeping out of this economic
trough, the negative impact this bad patch has had on the healthcare sector is
still being felt. The drugs supply situation in the country had deteriorated,
with many key drugs either unavailable, unaffordable or in short supply.
“In the majority of cases, these drugs which are mostly
imported, were now being sold in hard currencies, thus adding an additional
burden on the sick. This is unacceptable.”
He said there were things his Government was doing to
“check, arrest and reverse these adverse developments”.
President Mnangagwa said these included improving foreign
currency allocations to the health sector, dealing with the legacy debt of
about US$27 million owed by private importers of drugs, and recapacitating the
State’s NatPharm.
“NatPharm requires about US$60 million to stabilise the
drug supply situation in the country.
‘‘This will be made available while we mobilise funds to
retire the legacy debt so as to reopen relations with foreign suppliers,” the
President said. Sunday Mail
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