MINISTRY of Health Permanent Secretary Dr Kennedy Malama has directed all provincial and district health directors to work closely with Medical Stores Limited and Honeybee Pharmacy to ensure that the defective medical supplies are removed from circulation and quantified with immediate effect.

In a memo addressed to all provincial and district health directors and dated January 8, 2021, Dr Malama urged them to immediately facilitate disposal and subsequent replacement of the defective condoms and gloves.

“RE: RECALL OF LATEX EXAMINATION GLOVES MEDIUM AND LARGE, BATCH NUMBER GL- 20001 NP002/20 MANUFACTURED BY ADESHWAR MEDITEX PRIVATE LIMITED INDIA AND MALE LATE CONDOMS BATCHES NO NP006/20, MANUFACTURED BY UNIVERSAL PROPHYLACTIC LIMITED, INDIA. The Ministry of Health is in receipt of correspondence from Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) dated 7th January, 2021 in which they have directed Honeybee Pharmacy to urgently recall the affected batches of the above stated commodities from circulation. In this regard, the Ministry directs all institutions to work closely with Medical Stores Limited and Honeybee Pharmacy as a supplier to ensure that the stated batches are removed from circulation and quantified with immediate effect in order to facilitate appropriate disposal and subsequent replacement of the commodities by the suppliers,” wrote Malama.

The recall order was made by ZAMRA after the Public Accounts Committee learnt that Medical Stores had supplied defective condoms and gloves which had not been recalled despite being deemed unfit for use by the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS).