THE Zambia Medical Association (ZMA) says government should consider declaring a state of emergency in the health sector to invoke disaster management provisions in drug procurement. In a statement, Tuesday, ZMA Secretary General Kaumba Tolopu expressed concern about revelations that the national drug stock was currently at 53.1 percent. He said many lives would be lost without an emergent approach to the matter. “The revelation that the national drug stock currently stands at 53.1 percent, which falls way below the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended stock volume availability of 70 – 80 percent makes very sad reading. Additionally, the finding that over the nine months period under review, essential medicines were only available 40.2 percent of the time in tertiary...