NatPharm in financial crisis, seeks US$10 million emergency bailout
Zimbabwe’s sole medicines procurement and distribution entity, National Pharmaceutical Company (NATPHARM), is facing serious financial challenges and requires urgent capital injection to continue fulfilling its mandate. This was revealed by Aspect Maunganidze, Secretary for Health and Child Care, during oral evidence presented before the Health and Child Care Portfolio Committee. Maunganidze told legislators that NATPHARM […] The post NatPharm in financial crisis, seeks US$10 million emergency bailout appeared first on NewZimbabwe.com.
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Zimbabwe’s sole medicines procurement and distribution entity, National Pharmaceutical Company (NATPHARM), is facing serious financial challenges and requires urgent capital injection to continue fulfilling its mandate.
This was revealed by Aspect Maunganidze, Secretary for Health and Child Care, during oral evidence presented before the Health and Child Care Portfolio Committee.
Maunganidze told legislators that NATPHARM is currently financially unstable and requires immediate intervention.
“NATPHARM is currently not financially sound to deliver its mandate and there is a need for some form of capitalization at this stage,” he said.
He added that the Ministry of Health and Child Care has already moved to mobilise emergency funding through Treasury.
“The ministry has taken action to mobilize funds through Treasury for an immediate emergency release of US$10 million, which we think would allow for immediate medicines to replenish stock.”
The financial strain comes as NATPHARM is also struggling to settle obligations to suppliers. Two key contractors, IntraFAMO and Clean Planet, are currently owed approximately US$7.5 million.
NATPHARM, a 100% state-owned entity, is responsible for the procurement, warehousing and distribution of medicines and medical supplies to public health institutions nationwide, making its viability critical to Zimbabwe’s healthcare delivery system.
Maunganidze revealed that the company underperformed financially in 2025, recording total revenue of US$25.5 million against a projected US$36.2 million. Of that, handling income stood at US$9.7 million, slightly above the budgeted US$9.1 million, while sales revenue reached US$15.8 million.
However, the entity is weighed down by liabilities and operational inefficiencies.
“Unfortunately, it has got a total debt of US$1.1 million. There is expired stock which was written off in 2025 of about US$3 million,” he said.
He added that internal assessments indicated that nearly 80% of the expired stock could have been prevented with better systems and planning.
The Health Ministry further disclosed that availability of essential medicines in public health institutions remains below acceptable levels.
“The ministry expects that 50% of its institutions should at least be well stocked on tracer medicines. Currently, our performance is at about 47%,” said Maunganidze.
Tracer medicines, a standard metric used to assess availability of critical drugs across health facilities, together with the Vital, Essential and Non-essential (VEN) classification system, are key indicators of supply chain performance.
According to the Health Secretary, NATPHARM’s performance on the VEN system currently stands at 65%, below the minimum threshold of 70%.
“We are generally below the levels on both the tracer medicines and on the VEN for us to be supplying medicines adequately for our institutions,” he said.
The post NatPharm in financial crisis, seeks US$10 million emergency bailout appeared first on NewZimbabwe.com.
