Zambia vows action after US cuts aid over drugs theft

LUSAKA - Zambia's health ministry said it was taking action against the theft of donated medicines after the United States announced a major aid cut over the government's failure to tackle the racket.

The United States announced Thursday it would cut $50 million in annual health funding to Zambia over the "systematic" theft of medicine and other supplies meant to be handed out for free to the most vulnerable but which had been found to be on sale in pharmacies.

In a response late Thursday, Zambian Health Minister Elijah Muchima acknowledged: "The theft of medicines jeopardises public health, depriving patients of essential treatments, and undermining confidence in Zambia’s healthcare system."

"This persistent challenge reflects a deep-rooted problem," he said. Remedial measures to stamp out the theft had been taken, including the suspension or removal of top officials implicated in the scam, he said.

The US embassy said the fraud was discovered in late 2021 but the government had only arrested a few mid-level officials for involvement instead of tracking down the masterminds.

The health ministry said an independent forensic audit had also led to the removal from office of senior officials at the medical supplies agency, including its director general, and other action was expected.

"There will be no sacred cows in this process," Muchima said.

The debt-ridden southern African nation of 21 million people is heavily reliant on foreign aid. About one-third of its public health spending comes from the United States, according to Washington.

The health ministry sought to allay fears of an immediate drug shortage following the US cuts, saying its stocks for life-saving medicines to treat malaria, HIV and tuberculosis had more than doubled to 75 percent.

More than 64 percent of the population of copper-rich Zambia lives in poverty, a legacy of years of runaway corruption at the hands of a few politically connected people.