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Zimbabwe: 50 % of medical drugs out of stock in pharmacies Wed. January 09, 2008 09:37 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. - (SomaliNet) Critical shortages of foreign currency has led to at least 50 percent of medical drugs out of stock in Zimbabwe's pharmacies, making life harder for struggling Zimbabweans, a report revealed on Tuesday. The state-controlled Herald daily said the few available drugs have shot up in price, putting them well out of the reach of most white-collar workers. Desperately-needed drugs for conditions like HIV, diabetes, high blood pressure and epilepsy are now found in only about one pharmacy in four, the paper reported after a snap survey. "We have applied for foreign currency and we are waiting for allocations. Most pharmacies can no longer afford to import drugs, so the few that are still importing tend to be expensive," Ishe Nkomo, the president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe, said. The situation spells bad news for the one in seven Zimbabweans estimated to be living with HIV. A month-long prescription of Stalenev 30, a common anti-retroviral drug, now costs ZIM$85-million, more than six times a teacher's salary, the Herald said. More than 90 000 Zimbabweans are currently believed to be taking anti-retrovirals. Medicines against malaria, another of Zimbabwe's biggest killers, are also proving hard to come by. Simple anti-mosquito repellents that are smeared over the body now cost an average of ZIM$20-million per bottle where available. Foreign currency inflows to Zimbabwe have dwindled over the past seven years. Critics of President Robert Mugabe's regime point to plummeting agricultural receipts, especially of prime forex earner tobacco, following the launch of a controversial land reform programme before elections in 2000. Reports of violent farm invasions have kept away foreign tourists. Many businesses have closed down and exporters have also scaled down production partly because of the unattractive rates at which they are forced to exchange their earnings. Mugabe and his ministers blame the forex crunch on Western sanctions. Zimbabwe's health sector has been hard hit by the economic crisis. Doctors and nurses have streamed out of the country in the search for better pay. Reports from former colonial power Britain have revealed that at least 16 000 nurses from Zimbabwe had been granted working visas in the last eight years. - Sapa-dpa News Category: Africa Latest Headlines Latest News Nigeria: Militants say know whereabouts of kidnappe... Somalia: President Yusuf urges MPs to work togethe... Somalia: Two civilians killed as Islamist rebels at... Somalia: Somali pirates release Filipino crew held ... India: Army evacuates over 120,000 amidst flood scare... US plans to divert some marines from Iraq to Afghani... Zimbabwe: President Mugabe ready to form a new gov’t... Somalia: Muslim nations urged to step up aid to war... Sri Lanka: 36 rebels killed as gov’t troops, rebels c... Ethiopia: President Meles considers withdrawing... More News...