Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya says President Edgar Lungu is committed to the provision of health care services in the country.

In a statement issued by first secretary for press and public relations at the Zambian High Commission in South Africa Naomi Nyawali, Chiufya said under President Lungu, Zambia introduced health policies with positive results.

“President Edgar Lungu has galvanised his Cabinet to ensure that Zambia attains the Universal Health Care agenda. The President has shown a lot of political and personal commitment to improving the provision of health care services to majority Zambians in order to improve their lives. Under President Lungu’s leadership, Zambia has introduced a number of health policies that have started yielding positive results as provision of health care has improved,” Dr Chilufya said according to Nyawali.

She said Dr Chilufya was speaking in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the Africa Health Leadership Forum which attracted the participation of over 30 African countries.

“The introduction of compulsory health insurance and defined legacy goals under President Lungu will create sustainable way of financing health care and strengthen health security. The establishment of Levy Mwanawasa Medical University as a fourth Health public university will change how health workers are trained in Zambia; the institution had the capacity to train about 7,000 people at one given time. President Lungu has been leading from the front in the fight against communicable diseases as well as addressing aspects of nutrition among Zambians as part of his transformation agenda in the health sector,” said Dr Chilufya.

“I call on African countries to consider the health sector as a key economic investment and not a social cost. There is need for Africa to shift its current thinking on Health as a social sector that drains resources to an important economic sector that improved productivity among workers. Health is a key economic investment that will produce a healthy work force capable of driving Africa’s socio-economic agenda globally. He said countries need to formulate mechanisms that would increase access by all citizens to health care and services, improve financing and sustainable health care.”

He mentioned that infrastructure and equipment were fundamental pillars of the health systems mode that Africa needed to pursue in order to effectively provide quality health services on the continuum of health care.

Dr Chilufya noted that the supply chain for medicines must be strengthened by ensuring that drugs were produced within Africa as this would result in a robust supply chain.