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Paidamoyo Chipunza Senior Health Reporter

The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) has delivered an order of 10 000 units of hand sanitisers, hand wash, surgical theatre caps, overshoes, aprons and face masks to the NatPharm.

UZ made the products under a Government facilitated programme of local production of Covid-19 materials and equipment.

Together with additional items donated by other stakeholders, the UZ consignment was distributed to central hospitals, provincial medical directorates and points of entry and exit into the country.

Provincial medical directorates are expected to further distribute the sanitisers, hand wash and personal protective equipment to district health facilities.

NatPharm acting operations director Mr Zealous Nyabadza said they were expecting to get the same quantity from UZ after every two days.

Apart from supplying public health facilities, products such as hand washing liquid and sanitisers would be placed in supermarkets at nominal charges.

Mr Nyabadza said pharmacies and private health institutions were encouraged to restock supplies through NatPharm.

“We want to encourage the public and private players to buy these products from us, which are wholly Zimbabwean, produced by our own universities,” said Mr Nyabadza.

He said NatPharm will enter into similar arrangements with other universities throughout the country to meet anticipated demand of the hygienic products, as well as personal protective equipment to combat Covid-19.

NatPharm is also engaging UZ on intravenous fluids, which the university can produce to replace imports.

UZ, Great Zimbabwe University, Bindura University of Science Education, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Midlands State University and the National University of Science and Technology, are now all producing preventive products for Covid-19.

Health workers have been complaining that they do not have enough protective clothing to assist patients, while some pharmacies and supermarkets were fast running out of sanitisers and hand wash.