Parliament discovered that US$3 million worth of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs expired in government warehouses (NatPharm) before they could be sent out. This was revealed in late April 2026 by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health.
The public is angry because, while these drugs sat in storage until they expired, many clinics across Zimbabwe were:
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Turning patients away or telling them to come back later
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Giving only 1–2 weeks of pills instead of the usual 3‑month supply
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Forcing patients to buy the same drugs from private pharmacies at high cost because government stocks had “run out”
What Parliament Found (April 2026)
Acting Chairperson Decent Bajila and the Health Committee identified three main problems:
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Distribution bottlenecks – Drugs were kept in the main Harare warehouse instead of being sent to regional hubs (Bulawayo, Chinhoyi, Gweru, etc.).
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Poor “last-mile” logistics – Lack of working vehicles and fuel meant drugs could not reach remote rural clinics.
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Weak inventory tracking – The system failed to warn officials early enough to move nearly expired drugs to places with high demand.
Government’s Explanation
The Ministry of Health, led by Dr. Douglas Mombeshora, gave three reasons why drugs expire even when clinics face shortages:
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Regimen changes – When the Ministry switches to newer, better drugs (e.g., Dolutegravir), older versions sometimes go unused.
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Donor coordination issues – Large ARV donations (from the Global Fund and PEPFAR) often arrive in big batches with short shelf lives, and the system cannot distribute them in time.
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Funding cuts – The end of some USAID funding led to loss of transport staff and motorbikes, clogging the supply chain.
