TZW
Speaking during an occasion to officially receive the vehicles in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the Director General of MSD, Mr Laurean Rugambwa, explained that due to shortage of vehicles, it had been hiring them from private companies to supply medicine and medical supplies upcountry.
“With these new vehicles, MSD will be able to efficiently deliver supplies; we also plan to reduce the delivery cycle from three to two months to ensure timely availability of drugs and other related medical supplies,” Mr Rugambwa explained.
The donation to MSD has significantly increased its fleet of delivery vehicles from 32 to 213, he noted, stating that the agency had phased out 65 dilapidated vehicles. The MSD boss informed President Magufuli who was the guest of honour at the occasion that the agency had entered into agreements with government owned corporations to deliver its consignment to some areas.
He mentioned the entities as Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC), Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) and Tanzania Posts Corporation (TPC). “Through the arrangement, we plan to use the corporations to deliver the supplies to urban centres and these vehicles will deliver the same to remote areas. If all goes well, our plan is to reduce the delivery cycle to one month,” he explained.
According to Mr Rugambwa, the vehicles will be used to transport consignments of other state agencies from upcountry regions to Dar es Salaam at affordable costs. On the other hand, the MSD boss informed Dr Magufuli that the agency was engaging the private sector to invest in manufacturing of drugs locally through public-private partnerships.
At the same occasion, the Head of the Global Fund’s High Impact Africa II Department, Mr Linden Morrison, praised Tanzania as a significant partner of the international organisation in promoting better health for the people.
Mr Morrison, who represented the Executive Director of Global Fund, Mr Peter Sands, said their organisation was a performanceoriented which aims at addressing health challenges.