By Reporter
Yesterday, The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Dr. Diana Atwine inaugurated First Line Buyers of the Assured Artemesinin Combination Therapy into the ‘Chase Malaria To Zero’ project. This was during an event held at the Ministry Of Health Offices, where Dr. Atwine met QCL delegates, along with other pharmaceutical companies to dialogue about the distribution of anti-malarial drugs at a subsidized cost of shs 3,000 as a way of fighting Malaria in Uganda.
She also explained to the different First Line Buyers present at the function that there is need for them to play a pivotal role in order for Uganda to stand a chance of eradicating Malaria. She cited that there are standard operating procedures that the companies should adhere to as and when their distribution MOUs come into effect.
“Malaria has the largest mortality statistics, even worse than Covid19. If other countries can eliminate Malaria totally, even Uganda can do it. We want to make sure the common man has access to affordable antimalarial drugs. As a supplier, you need to ask yourself what you are contributing to the cause. So please don’t over charge people. This is not a profit making campaign. The ACTm drugs should be sold at 3000 shs to the patients. Suppliers selling it at more than that will face dire consequences including being scraped off the co-payment program as a First line Buyer” said Permanent Secretary Diana Atwine, while addressing the First Line Buyers.
Speaking on behalf of the manufacturers (courtesy of QCL’s partnership with Cipla) at the function, Dr. David Omoding thanked the Ministry Of Health for having recognized their efforts in the fight against Malaria.
“QCL has always been at the forefront, and continues to lead in the fight against the Malaria pandemic. We reaffirm Ugandans that we will continue providing medicines to help wipe out Malaria in the country through providing effective Malaria treatment, advocating for proper diagnosis and rational use of Artemesinin Combination Therapy. We encourage more people to test for Malaria as much as they test for Covid19,” said Dr. David Omoding.