‘Zim to domesticate essential drugs production, cut medical tourism costs’

Prosper Ndlovu in MOSCOW, Russia

ZIMBABWE intends to domesticate production of essential medicines and position itself as a hub for specialist medical treatment in Southern Africa, leveraging its growing health cooperation with Russia.

Vice President Kembo Mohadi said this yesterday after arriving here to follow up on a 2025 memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries.

He is leading a delegation comprising Health and Childcare Deputy Minister Sleiman Kwidini; Public Health Adviser in the Office of the President and Cabinet Dr Agnes Mahomva; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services Dr Beaullah Chirume; and private sector players in the pharmaceutical industry.

Highlighting the focus of his mission, VP Mohadi told the media that the Government is moving beyond paperwork to implementation.

“You know we are not interested in actually having piles and piles of documents . . . one of the moves that we have taken is why I am here,” he said.

“We are here to see to it what can we possibly get now as part of implementation of that memorandum, in terms of pharmaceuticals and all that.”

He said while Zimbabwe is training medical personnel in Russia, the ultimate goal is technology transfer and local production.

“We would not want to be ordering or importing materials from here. We would want them to come down to establish, to come and partner us in terms of production of essential drugs that we want.”

He made reference to cancer treatment, which remains a major burden, especially for women, saying Moscow’s advanced early detection and treatment capacity provides a model Harare wants to replicate.

“Oncology is one of the areas that is actually problematic back home, and the Russian government has gone a long way in actually combating this and detecting it at its infancy and also treating it,” he said.

“We would want to have what we call transfer of technology. So, that’s why I am here. We are here to get them to help us establish ourselves, help us stand on our feet.”

VP Mohadi said the sustained high-level exchange, with Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga visiting last year and President Mnangagwa attending the recent Russia-Africa Summit, shows relations growing from strength to strength, anchored in historical ties.

“This relationship is growing. It’s growing from strength to strength. We are here to solidify it and, by all means, see that everything that we agree in that memorandum is implemented, and people back home see the benefit of it. They will see the benefit,” he said.

“By the way, don’t forget that every liberation movement in Southern Africa, the weapons that we used in the war came from this country.”

VP Mohadi said the ultimate vision is to end medical tourism and make Zimbabwe a destination for specialised care.

“We will stop sending people to those places that you know about, where we send people with diseases that we can’t treat in Zimbabwe. All of Southern Africa will be coming to Zimbabwe to get treatment.”

The drive, he said, feeds directly into President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030 and the pursuit for universal health coverage.

“It’s not only an upper middle-income society that we are looking at. It also should relate to the health of our people . . . So, we’re right on track to achieve universal health coverage,” said VP Mohadi.

As part of his mission, the Vice President is expected to hold a series of meetings with Russian health authorities and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The engagements are expected to finalise implementation of a partnership agreement between Zimbabwe and Russia aimed at improving health service delivery in the country.

Meanwhile, upon arrival, VP Mohadi was received by Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Russia Mark Grey Marongwe and senior Russian officials.

Source: ‘Zim to domesticate essential drugs production, cut medical tourism costs’ – herald

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