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By ZamChro Correspondent

The Ministry of Health has withdrawn a major AIDS drug, Stavudine, from the ARV therapy after discovering long-term irreversible side effects in HIV patients.

Announcing the new ARV therapy after two years of investigations and consultations, Ministry of Health spokesperson Dr Reuben Mbewe said a new drug called Tenofovir (TDF) had been immediately introduced to replace the 40 milligrams Stavudine.

“We started our investigations in 2007 and after consultations, we were the first developing country to immediately start phasing out the 40 milligram Stavudine and replacing it with Tenofovir because of its side effects which include wasting and nerve disorder,” he said. “This is despite the extra cost needed to acquire the new drug because we realised that its benefits are of vital importance to the Zambian people.”

“From our investigations, it was found that one in four patients had these side effects from the use of 40 milligram Stavudine, but three quarters of them did not react to the 30 milligramme Stavudine,” said Dr Mbewe.

“We are advising patients not to stop the therapy on their own, if they notice any strange side effects, let them go to the nearest health centres and get advice from medical experts. Patients who will notice side effects after taking the 30 milligrammes Stavudine should also seek medical advice.”

World Health Organization recommended that countries progressively phase out the use of Stavudine as a preferred first-line therapy option and move to less toxic alternatives such as Tenofovir (TDF) or Zidovudine (AZT) which are equally effective alternatives.

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By ZamChro Correspondent

Chiefs on the Copperbelt have come out strongly against the provision of condoms to guests at lodges and hotels because it is promoting promiscuity.

Speaking on behalf of the other chiefs during a two-day Copperbelt HIV Provincial Prevention Convention held at Hotel Edinburgh in Kitwe at the weekend, Chieftainess Malembeka said putting condoms in rooms of lodges, guesthouses and hotels should be discouraged.

The chieftainess said the practise was encouraging promiscuity because it reminded guests of sex and that they would seek partners for sex.

Chieftainess Malembeka said traditional leaders would not like to promote promiscuity among Zambians by encouraging them to use condoms, but would like them to abstain and be faithful to their wives and husbands.

She, however, told other participants to the convention who were advocating for the usage of condoms to feel free to use the condoms, but that chiefs in the area would not encourage the use of condoms.

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By ZamChro Correspondent

Nineteen people died while 33 others sustained severe injuries yesterday after a road accident on the Great North Road in Chinsali.

Eighteen of them died on the spot after the bus in which they were travelling collided with a fuel tanker.

Police Service spokesperson Bonny Kapeso confirmed the accident which happened between 04:00 hours and 05:00 hours yesterday.

The bodies of the deceased are lying in Chinsali District Hospital Mortuary, while the injured are admitted to the same hospital.

Mr Kapeso said a Scania Marcopolo bus was travelling from Kitwe when it collided with a fuel tanker which was coming from Nakonde.

He said the incident happened at Chisunsa Village in Matumbo.

Some surviving passengers admitted to hospital said they suspected something wrong in the driving when the first driver handed over the vehicle to a colleague.

And Chinsali Hospital acting director of medical services Kamina Kabongo described the condition of the admitted as stable.

Dr Kabungo, however, did not rule out changes in the condition of the surviving accident victims. One of the survivors was pronounced dead at 15:00 hours.

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By ZamChro Correspondent

The Ministry of Health is considering localising the procurement of essential medicines manufactured in Zambia through long-term frame contracts with local pharmaceutical companies.

Health Deputy Minister, Mwendoi Akakandelwa said the move would act as a stimulus for growth in capacity by the sector and the national economy.

He said this in Lusaka on Friday at the launch of Zifam Pinnacle products in Zambia that would be promoted by Divison Pharmaceutical Limited, a Zambian firm.

Mr Akakandelwa said issues of availability of essential medicines hinged on national security and that there was need to have medicines security just as the country strove to have food security.

Zifam Pinnacle whose headquarters is based in Australia produces a variety of unique products such as Nuflam, Supravit, Protec, Eposoft, Mega 3, Vibran, Lobese and Imunor among others.

The firm is famous world over for its range of natural products with proven efficacy and safety.

Mr Akakandelwa said the Ministry of Health recognised the private sector as a key stakeholder in delivery of health care services in Zambia.

The key role played by the Government is the provision of procurement, storage and distribution services for essential medicines and medical supplies to the public.

Through the concept of public-private partnerships, there were numerous opportunities that existed in various pharmaceutical delivery areas.

“We as Government therefore are inviting the private sector to take advantage of this plausible arrangement to improve the efficiencies in the pharmaceutical sector.

“It is a well known fact that the Ministry of Health cannot meet needs of the Zambian population on its own with regard to health services and hence the desire to strengthen cooperation with all key partners in this sector. This includes manufacturers and distributors of essential medicines and medical supplies,” Mr Akakandelwa said.

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By ZamChro Correspondent

President Rupiah Banda on Tuesday urged Zambians to use condoms, circumcision and avoid multiple and concurrent sexual affairs to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Launching the a three-day Zambia HIV prevention convention under theme: Securing Zambia’s future at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka, President Banda said HIV/AIDS was robbing Zambia of the much needed human capital by decimating educated and productive women and men in their prime, many of whom had been trained at great cost to the treasury.

“This poses a serious threat to the present and future development of this country. For this reason, my government will do all it takes to provide an environment in which Zambians will enjoy a healthy and productive life,” President Banda said.

“The government’s free condom distribution programme is helping sexually active Zambians to make informed decisions about protecting themselves from HIV infection.”
He said Zambia was faced with challenges that required frankness and honesty from Zambians.

“I am informed that multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships especially among stable and long-standing relationships are a leading source of new infections in the country. Within these relationships, consistent and correct condom use remain dismally low despite condoms being readily available and in most cases free of charge. If we want to stop HIV, we have to stop this behaviour,” President Banda said.

“As a practical measure, condom use should be promoted alongside the promotion of abstinence. Condoms are important for general sexual reproductive health and the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.”

On male circumcision, President Banda said it was important for males of all ages to be encouraged to undergo circumcision to reduce new HIV infections.

“It should, however, be noted that circumcision is only effective when used with other preventative measures. We should encourage our young men to become circumcised,” President Banda said. “Alcohol abuse and domestic violence are equally of great concern to my government. I direct the relevant arms of government to come up with ways of curbing these two vices because they contribute to the spread of the virus.”

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By ZamChro Correspondent

Health Minister Kapembwa Simbao has said Zambia is advancing towards the malaria-free status after reducing the prevalence rate to an average of 35 cases in every 1,000 people.   

Mr Simbao said in Lusaka on Tuesday that the rate of death emanating from the disease had been reduced by 66 per cent as per World Health Organisation (WHO) findings and that was partly attributable to the use of coartem.  

He said this during a Press briefing on the use of coartem as first-line treatment of malaria attended by journalists, some from Europe, who are in the country under the sponsorship of Novartis Malaria Initiative, the manufacturers of coartem.

He said although international records showed that Zambia had not yet attained the disease elimination stage, in had been in actual fact achieved and soon the country would be able to reach the disease-free scenario.   

Mr Simbao said Zambia recorded success through the multifaceted approach which included the provision of more than five million treated anti-mosquito nets, the indoor residual spraying and the use of coartem following the high failure rate of chloroquine.

Malaria is a tropical disease caused by parasites of the plasmodium species and is transmitted from person to person through the bites of an infected female anopheles mosquito.

The symptoms include fever, headaches and other flu-like signs and if not treated, the disease in its most severe form leads to a coma or death.

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By ZamChro Correspondent

Ministry of Health spokesperson Dr Kamoto Mbewe yesterday said the 32 health workers that were suspended from the ministry following revelations of corruption still remain suspended.

Dr Mbewe said the cases of the suspended health workers were still going on.

“They are still suspended pending investigations but how far the investigations have gone, I don’t know,” he said.

Dr Mbewe said witnesses were being gathered even though he could not state how many.

In May this year, the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) unearthed a scam at the Ministry of Health in which over K10 billion was unscrupulously misappropriated.
Later, Auditor General Anna Chifungula said preliminary investigations had revealed that about K27 billion had been stolen.

Following the investigations, Secretary to the Cabinet Dr Joshua Kanganja suspended 32 workers pending investigations.

So far only nine out of the 32 are currently appearing in court. Following the revelations, the Swedish and Dutch governments, the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) suspended funding to the ministry.

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By ZamChro Correspondent

Netherlands Minister for Development and Co-operation Bert Koenders says his country will soon resume financial support to the Ministry of Health.

Mr Koenders said in Ethiopia on Tuesday that his Government is ready to resume funding to the Ministry of Health.

He said his Government is just waiting for a clear operational plan from the Ministry of Health before it can resume funding.

Mr Koenders said the operational plan from the Ministry of Health should give his Government and the people of Netherlands confidence that the tax payers’ money will be used for the intended purpose.

He said the people of Netherlands are convinced that the money, which Zambia receives, is used for the intended purpose.

“We did not stop the financial support to the Ministry of Health in Zambia so that we can penalise the people; all we wanted was to allow investigations to be done, then continue supporting them,” Mr Koenders said.

He said the Minister of Health in Zambia, Kapembwa Simbao, has promised his Government and the people of Netherlands that the money, which is channeled to his ministry, will be well spent.

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By ZamChro Correspondent

Government has commissioned containerized laboratories, the first of their kind in the world to facilitate the tuberculosis prevalence survey in the country as part of a five-year Zambia and South Africa TB and AIDS Reduction Study (ZAMSTAR).

The laboratories, made available by the Zambia AIDS Related Tuberculosis (ZAMBART) project, will be located at the Ministry of Health facilities in Lusaka, Kabwe, Ndola and Livingstone.
About 80,000 sputum specimens for TB culture will be collected from the 16 sites in Zambia.

Speaking at the official opening of the TB laboratory at Chest Diseases Laboratory in Lusaka on Wednesday last week, Minister of Health Kapembwa Simbao , in a speech read on his behalf by Ministry permanent secretary, Velipi Mtonga, said TB remains a major public health problem.

Mr Simbao, however, said the Ministry of Health through the National TB Control Programme has put in place control strategies and innovations.
“ There is still need for concerted efforts from all corners of the country to reduce this burden.

Like many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Zambia has experienced an upsurge in TB cases. The case load has increased more than fivefold over the past two decades and, currently, Zambia is among the top 15 countries with the highest per capita incidence of TB.

Mr Simbao said the World Health Organisation estimates that there were approximately nine million deaths globally in 2007 due to TB.
“The notification rate in Zambia of all forms of TB in 2008 was over 400/ 100,000 population,” he said.

He said the Ministry of Health has made a lot of progress in improving the lives of Zambians and has shown high political commitment towards TB control, addressing the TB/HIV burden and now is embarking on beginning to include the management of drug resistant tuberculosis.

“All these efforts have been done in collaboration with a number of relevant stakeholders who have provided support, through financial inputs, technical support or indeed provision of research-based evidence to inform policy,” he said.

Mr Simbao said the key to TB control is to detect as many cases as possible, at an early and appropriate time and successfully treat all those cases detected. This in turn will lead to a reduction of prevalent TB cases and hence break transmission in our communities.

“It is undebatable that early diagnosis. Therefore, it is fundamental to ensure success in all TB control efforts.

“The containerised TB laboratory we are officially opening today was sourced for this very purpose to meet the need of early diagnosis. At this point, I wish to commend the ZAMBART project, the Ministry of Health staff at the chest diseases laboratory and the national TB control programme for such a well thought -through innovation!”

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By ZamChro Correspondent

Zambia has recorded a total of 746 cases of suspected Influenza A/H1N1 (commonly referred to as swine flu) as of September, 27, 2009, acting health minister Peter Daka has confirmed.

And Daka has announced that the health ministry has secured half of its K9.8 billion budget from donors aimed at enhancing the fight against swine flu.

Giving an update on the current nationwide pandemic today, Daka said his ministry has continued its surveillance activities for influenza while health workers were being updated with skills and knowledge on the response to the pandemic.

“The Copperbelt has had 420 cases of influenza A/H1N1 and no deaths have been recorded. Last week, we also received reports of an outbreak at Isoka High School were 254 cases were screened, of which 197 were quarantined,” said Daka.

Other areas affected by the pandemic were Western Province which recorded 32 cases at Lewanika High School all of whom were currently on treatment and classified as stable.

North-Western Province reported 35 cases while Mumbwa, Central Province registered five cases of the suspected swine flu.

“We are also making efforts to improve stockpiles of drugs and lab supplies as we lobby for more funding from government and its partners,” Daka said.

“The ministry has a budget of K 9.8 billion towards the fight against the pandemic and half of that money has already been sourced from our cooperating partners World Bank and World Health Organisation (WHO).

He further said the ministry yesterday recorded 11 new cases of swine flu, five of which were from Lusaka.

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