By Health Reporter
Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care, Slayman Kwidini, has attributed the decline of Zimbabwe’s local pharmaceutical manufacturing sector to Western-imposed sanctions, citing major companies like Datlabs and Caps Pharmaceuticals as key victims of the embargo.
Kwidini made these remarks during a parliamentary question-and-answer session, in response to concerns from lawmakers about the downfall of once-successful domestic drug producers.
According to the Deputy Minister, Zimbabwe did not face such challenges before the imposition of sanctions, which have been in place for more than two decades. He emphasized that the issues facing the pharmaceutical sector emerged only after the sanctions were introduced.
“We’ve been discussing this issue for over 20 years, but before those 20 years, we did not have these problems. These challenges came after the sanctions were imposed. Companies like Datlabs and Caps have been hit hard by these sanctions, something some people here refuse to acknowledge,” Kwidini stated.
In his response, Kwidini assured the public that the government had not been idle in the face of sanctions. Rather than waiting for their removal, Zimbabwe has sought to source supplies from international partners to mitigate the impact on its pharmaceutical sector.
“We did not wait for the sanctions to be lifted. We turned to other countries for support,” he explained.
However, Kwidini also recognized the difficulties that arise from importing medicines from unfamiliar sources, noting that such transactions can carry risks, including the potential for counterfeit drugs entering the market. To address this, he emphasized that the government ensures strict monitoring of the manufacturing process when sourcing from foreign suppliers to protect public health.
“When you’re procuring medicines from unknown sources, there’s always a risk of counterfeit products, which can cause serious harm. That’s why we ensure that we’re present at the factories where these medicines are produced to ensure their safety,” Kwidini added.
Meanwhile, a new piece of legislation introduced in the US House of Representatives by Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, aims to repeal the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA). The proposed bill, known as the “Department of State Policy Provisions Act,” suggests that the US would continue to support international credit to Zimbabwe, but only if the country fully compensates white former farmers displaced during the land reform program.
The US maintains that its sanctions are not blanket measures, but are targeted at individuals and entities implicated in human rights abuses or corruption, denying that they are a comprehensive embargo against the country.
