Zimbabwe pharmaceuticals market over 90% generics and OTCs; will expand at 23% CAGR

While Zimbabwe's difficulties cover the entire economic and political spectrum, encouraging stabilization and investment in the pharmaceutical industry should be among the government's top priorities. Self-reliance on medicines will dramatically reduce import dependence and lower costs for patient, notes a new report offered by Research and Markets.

The drug market summary indicates that, in the 12 months ending in December 2009, generic drugs will comprise 68.5% of the total drug market followed by the over-the-counter medicines segment at 22.5%. Health care spending is expected to rise from $220 million in 2009 to $650 million by 2014, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23%. The authors caution that a sizable portion of this money will come from foreign aid and, in light of Zimbabwe's recent political and economic history, may not be entirely realized in the context of actual health care services. Per-capita spending on health care will rise from $17.58 to $46.97 by 2014. There is no operational or national health insurance scheme and therefore doctor fees and prescriptions are all paid for out-of-pocket.

In further developments during October 2009 aimed at assisting Zimbabwe's economic recovery, the coalition government revealed that medical staff will be paid more substantial salaries, appropriate to their positions. The health care sector is an urgent priority for the re-establishment of core industrial segments, and one of the factors that contributed to its breakdown was the mass exodus of doctors and nurses. Political violence and general unrest also disrupted the medical supply chain, causing medicine shortages in hospitals and power and water cuts exacerbated by overwhelming demand from patients with traumatic injuries and communicable diseases.