• Citizens must be able to see and benefit from the scheme
• NHIMA and ZAMSA to carry out their respective mandates and contribute to quality health care provision
• 1, 025 new positive Covid-19 cases recorded in the last 24 hours with 13 deaths.

Ministry of Health says 90 percent of the money that people pay towards the National Health Insurance Management Authority (NHIMA) should be utilized in public health facilities in the country.
Speaking when he conducted an onsite inspection of the Chipata Level One Hospital in Lusaka, Health Minister Dr. Jonas Chanda said citizens must be able to see and benefit from the scheme through the supply of medicine and medical supplies.
“We met NHIMA yesterday and I told them that the situation we want to see is that the money that people pay come to the facilities so that people see the tangible benefits,” Dr. Chanda said.
“We do not want to see people being written prescriptions to buy gloves and panado, we want the people to benefit.”
Dr. Chanda added that the Ministry will make sure that NHIMA and the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supply Agency (ZAMSA) carry out their respective mandates and contribute to quality health care provision to citizens.
“We’ve made changes to ZAMSA and we will make sure that NHIMA compliments the others efforts,” he said.

He further said the ministry is discussing with the Ministry of Finance over the need to hire additional health workers to be deployed in clinics and hospital to increase manpower across the country.
“We have made a request to hire more health workers and we will have a definite figure soon,” Dr. Chanda said.
“We will definitely prioritize when it comes to the allocation.”
Meanwhile, 1, 025 new positive Covid-19 cases have been recorded in the last 24 hours after 6, 699 tests were conducted bringing the cumulative number of cases recorded to 66, 598.
Dr. Chanda disclosed that of the cases recorded, 247 are from Lusaka, 139 from Central, 135 in Luapula, 129 in North Western, 106 from Northern, 92 from the Copperbelt, 82 in Southern and 42 from Eastern Provinces.
He added that 13 deaths were recorded of which 10 have been classified as Covid-19 mortalities while three are associated deaths.
The minister said 1, 114 people have since recovered and the number of active cases now stands at 5, 695 of which 5, 298 are under community management while 397 are admitted in isolation health facilities.