U.S. GOVERNMENT PLEDGES INCREASED COOPERATION IN HEALTH

The United States Government has pledged continued assistance towards the key sectors of health such as maternal, neonatal, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria.

U.S. Charge d' Affaires Linissa Wahid says the U.S. government will continue to cooperate in the key areas and to render fiscal assistance to the Zambian government to enable the country attain the global health targets.

Ms Linissa further noted that the U.S government is pleased that Zambia has reached the HIV/AIDS/TB epidemic control threshold and for prioritizing maternal and child health.

Ms Linissa has also applauded the government through the Ministry of Health for increasing access to family planning among women and girls.

The Charge d' Affaires has however appealed to government to consider revising the age limit at which one is able to access family planning in order to maximize the benefits.

Ms Linissa says Zambia has demonstrated to be a shining example in the region by being among the first African countries to set up the centre for disease surveillance and response, known as the Zambia National Public Health Institute-ZNPHI.

She was speaking in Lusaka today ,when she paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Health, in the company of a high-level U.S. Embassy delegation.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Elijah Muchima has applauded the U.S. government for being the largest donor to the country's health sector.

Dr Muchima says the Zambian government has through the Ministry of Health continued to receive the largest financial and technical support from the U.S. government totaling about 400 million United States Dollars each year.

Dr Muchima noted that the U.S. government has also been instrumental in supporting efforts to stem ongoing public health threats in Zambia, including the recent cholera outbreak, where the American people provided training and medical supplies, including laboratory supplies among others.

Dr Muchima said he remains optimistic that the U.S government will also focus on other critical areas such as reproductive, maternal and child health, nutrition, infrastructure,solar power as well as cold chain for support.

The Minister told the delegation that to ensure  commodity security and ongoing management issues at the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency-ZAMMSA, a draft concept note to USAID for consideration to help strengthen management has been submitted.

He also disclosed that the ministry has so far reached an advanced stage of conducting a forensic audit to identify obstacles to achieving total commodity security.