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Cimas Health Group Chief Executive Officer, Vulindlela Lester Ndlovu, has said the success of the government’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) blueprint falls squarely on the private sector working together with the government.
Mr Ndlovu made the remarks on Wednesday addressing guests at the International Business Conference 2024 which is part of the weeklong Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo.
For the second year running, Cimas Health Group is the platinum sponsor for the ZITF International Business Conference.
“Our wish list for our industry, consistent with this year’s ZITF great theme, firstly, I must say that the government of Zimbabwe initiated bold strategies that are disrupting the status quo through the NDS1 blueprint. However, the success of this blueprint falls squarely on the private sector working together with the government.
“We find the pharmaceutical value chain strategies most exciting. As Cimas Health Group, we intend to maximize the whole healthcare value chain. However, zeroing in on the pharmaceutical value chain, we have seen an increase in locally manufactured medical consumables and pharmaceuticals. We are, however, cognisant that as a country we are still lagging in meeting the NDS1 expectations,” Mr. Ndlovu said.
Mr. Ndlovu continued: “We, therefore, must increase our efforts, as the country still has a high volume of pharmaceutical imports. Is it not time we all mobilised more funding to capacitate local manufacturers? Is this not an opportune time for a Health Investment Fund, whose success will be underpinned by sustainable support given to the manufacturers by us the private sector, and the public sector? On another note, supporting NatPharm will also assist us in improving medicines availability and pricing.”
Ndlovu said this year’s ZITF theme Innovation: The Catalyst to Industrialisation and Trade was inspiring. As a private healthcare player, Cimas does not underestimate the responsibility it has in contributing to innovations that can take the country forward.
“I am excited to advise that this year, as Cimas Health Group, we are launching a genomic sequencing service. This will enable us to identify individuals who could potentially be at risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. Our sequencer will also be able to do wellness and pharmacogenetic testing. In the end, it will help in the development of precision medicine,” he said.
“This year, in addition to our Exhibition Pavilion where we have mental health assessments, Body Mass Index (BMI), BP, diabetes screening, Hpylori screening tests, blood grouping tests, and prostate screening tests, we have also brought our brand-new mobile clinic.”
This year’s edition of the Trade Fair started on a high note with 27 countries participating. This is an increase in terms of exhibitors compared to the 21 countries that participated in last year’s edition. Some of the countries that are part of this year’s exhibition include Botswana, Belarus, Brazil, People’s Republic of China, Kingdom of Eswatini, European Union, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, and Mozambique.