Posted on :Tuesday , 8th May 2018

President John Magufuli has pointed to the ever-expanding demand for medicine and medical supplies within the nation as an opportunity for companies at home and abroad to tap into this market.

The nation’s immense demand is met mostly by overseas exporters that accounts for 94 percent of the total demand. A meager 6 percent of the demand is met by local players who manufacture the said drugs domestically.

“The ministry responsible for health could alternatively engage local investors and provide them with loans to establish the factories andrecover the money when they start supplying the deliveries to the government,” Magufuli proposed.

The president also went on to underline the important role that retired medical personnel like doctors and pharmacists can play in building a stronger medical sector in Tanzania.

“It beats my conscience why we cannot produce even syringes, distilled water … yet we have technologies to produce plastics and bottled water among others,” he wondered, adding: “The government of Tanzania puts a lot of emphasis in the health sector and that is why the budget for the sector has been increasing from 1.9tri/- during FY 2016/2017 to 2.2trl/- in 2017/2018″. The president acknowledged the Global Fund for its financial support to Tanzania’s health sector, now amounting to 1.9trl/- over the past three years.