US cuts help to Zambia about ‘systematic’ theft of medicine

The US has announced that it cuts $ 50 million (£ 37 million) to support Zambia’s health sector, due to the failure of the country to tackle the “systematic theft” of donated drugs and medical supplies.

This “difficult” decision was made after repeated warnings to the Zambian government to protect vital drugs intended for the most vulnerable patients in the country, said the American ambassador in Zambia Michael Gonzales.

“We are no longer willing to endorse the personal enrichment of fraudsters or the corrupt when patients go without going or buy life -saving medicines that we have provided for free,” he added.

The Zambian government still has to comment.

The cutbacks are separate from the radical freezing of foreign help announced by President Donald Trump in January.

The Zambian health sector is strongly funded by foreign donors, but there have been earlier reports of widespread embezzlement and corruption involving high health officials.

The US accounts for about a third of the public health expenditure in Zambia according to a statement from the American embassy in the country.

But American officials said they had discovered the “national theft” of medical products that were intended to be distributed for free for the public, but now they were sold by private pharmacies.

More than 2,000 pharmacies in Zambia were found to sell donated medicines and medical supplies in a year research conducted by the American embassy.

“Shocking, during these visits, 95 percent of the pharmacies sold the types of products that offer the United States also sold stolen goods,” said the statement.

Almost half of the pharmacies visited were found to sell medicines and stocks served by the US government, said it.

Other pharmacies were also found to sell stolen medical shares purchased by the Zambian government, the global fund and the other donor partners of Zambia, it added.

The American embassy said it had presented its findings and offered experts for action to stop further theft and bring the perpetrators to court in April last year, but no action was taken.

“I regret that the actions of the government have been drastically brought to date, a shortage of demonstrating an obligation to protect American help and the lives we want to save,” said the embassy.

Zambia’s law enforcement operations have focused on “low -level” actors and have led to the arrest of “only a few officials at the middle level” instead of investigating supply sources and the pursuit of the brain behind the theft of medicines, according to the US embassy.

Gonzales said that the US “can no longer justify the American taxpayer who continues to offer such massive levels of help.”

He said that the cutbacks would influence drugs to treat malaria, HIV and tuberculosis.

“This is not a decision that we have made lightly,” said Gonzales, slamming tears when he explained how the measure would influence Zambian patients.

The AID cutbacks will be in force next year to give the Zambian government time to develop alternative regulations, but he said that “the decision had been made”.

Since the Trump administration took office, the billions of dollars have lowered worldwide health programs, in which African countries have been hit, including Zambia, where HIV remains a major threat, especially for adolescents and young adults.

Trump announced the help on his first day at the office in January in line with his “America First” foreign policy.

The loss of help have influenced the health programs throughout Africa, including shipments of critical medical supplies, including HIV medication.

The majority of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) programs that offer health and humanitarian aid to vulnerable countries, have ended since then.

In March the president of Zambia Hakaine Hichilema said that Trump “had beaten us on both cheeks” and said it was time for his country to strengthen his treasury to get his own medicines.