ZAMMSA and Smart Zambia Partner to Enhance Medicine Distribution

ZAMMSA, the Zambian Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency, has partnered with Smart Zambia, the division of the President’s office responsible for overseeing the digitisation of government services, to streamline its operations.

Principally, this involves strengthening ZAMMSA’s digital record keeping, to help ensure that all of its supplies reach their intended destinations nationwide.

Speaking to ZNBC News at ZAMMSA’s chief Lusaka storage facility, Dr John Kachimba, the agency’s director general, said the following:

“We really depend on our ICT capacities. We are hopeful that Smart Zambia will do two things: increase our capacities, and provide solutions to problems we’ve had for the last few years. Coupled with that, we are hopeful that the introduction of Smart Zambia will lead to the use of systems that are homegrown, that address our unique problems, that are easier to maintain and manage with the help of Smart Zambia within the country, and that will lead to greater efficiency and more resilient ICT systems”.

This move will hopefully increase the reliability of medicine transport networks, ensuring greater access to healthcare for Zambians across the country. It also reflects the UPND government’s ambitions to modernise and integrate public services to achieve greater efficiency and reliability. Crucially, it also enhances Zambia’s self-sufficiency in the medical sector as it adjusts to reductions in development aid.