Fight Inequality Alliance Zambia (FIA) has reacted strongly to the suspension of senior officials at the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA), linking the procurement scandal to the wider crisis of inequality in the health sector.
FIA Zambia National Coordinator Mputa Ngalande said the suspensions underscore how corruption and inefficiency in public institutions deepen inequality, with the poorest citizens bearing the brunt of medicine shortages.
He stated that when procurement systems fail, it is not the privileged who suffer, but the millions of ordinary Zambians who depend entirely on public health facilities for life-saving drugs.
Ngalande warned that the ZAMMSA case mirrors the same lack of transparency and accountability that FIA condemned in the reported “health-for-minerals” pact.
He said both situations reveal how opacity and elite capture of public resources undermine the rights of citizens and entrench inequality.
He stated that procurement scandals are not isolated incidents but part of a systemic pattern where public resources meant to serve the many are diverted or mismanaged by a few.
This, he said, perpetuates inequitable access to medicines and keeps vulnerable communities trapped in cycles of poverty and ill health.
Ngalande called on the government to go beyond suspensions and ensure full disclosure of the investigations, strengthen oversight institutions, and involve communities in monitoring the distribution of medicines.
He reminded authorities that health is a fundamental right, not a privilege, and that safeguarding public resources is essential to dismantling inequality.
“Where accountability fails, inequality thrives,” FIA warned, urging the government to treat the ZAMMSA scandal as a wake-up call to build systems that protect citizens rather than expose them to further vulnerability.
