History of pharmacy in Zambia

1. History and Evolution of
Pharmacy in Zambia
Thelma Kaluba Mhango
Bpharm, MScSC

2. Outline
 Objectives
 Definition of Pharmacy
 Overview of Pharmacy in Zambia
 Local training of Pharmacists in Zambia
 Objectives of the Bpharm Programme
 Societies Associated with Pharmacy in Zambia
 Hospital Pharmacy in Zambia

3. Objectives
 By the end of this session, Students should be able to ;
 Explain the History and evolution of Pharmacy in Zambia

4. What is Pharmacy
 A clinical health science that links medical science chemistry and is charged
with discovery, production disposal, safe and effective use and control of
medications and drugs

5. Overview of Pharmacy in Zambia
 Retail Pharmacy in Zambia dates to 1904 and the first Zambian pharmacist
was registered in 1965.
 The establishment of local training facilities has had a positive impact on the
practice.
 The pharmacy and medicines laws have undergone reviews which have
contributed to an improvement in the capacity of the regulatory authorities
to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines and medical supplies
on the Zambian market.
 The National Quality Control Laboratory has been in operation since 2011.

6.  The Pharmaceutical Society of Zambia was born in 1980 and its continued
activity is a credit to the pharmacy profession in Zambia. The founder
members and subsequent leadership of the Society have worked hard to
achieve this status.
 The pharmacy profession in Zambia has come a long way and it has a lot to be
proud of. However, there is still much more that can be done.

7. Local Training Of Pharmacists in Zambia
 In Zambia, local training of pharmacists commenced in 2001.
 Prior to 2005, pharmacists practising in Zambia were all trained from
different countries abroad that may have employed pharmacy curricula that
did not necessarily address the local competence requirements
 The need to develop and grow local training programmes to produce
pharmacists who meet the contemporary competences for pharmaceutical
care provision was an eminent national priority in Zambia.

8.  Currently, there are several universities training pharmacists in Zambia,
namely:
 University of Zambia (public) and
 Lusaka Apex Medical University (private).
 Eden University
 Texila American university


9.  Several other local public and private universities are currently developing
and accrediting pharmaceutical education programmes.
 As of 2016, well over 700 pharmacists have been produced by the local
pharmacy training programmes
 (Health Professions Council of Zambia [HPCZ], 2016) which continue to
address the pharmaceutical workforce needs in Zambia.

10.  Local training of pharmacists at degree level was first introduced in 2001 at
the University of Zambia (UNZA) – the oldest and largest public university in
the country (UNZA, 2002).
 The University in collaboration with stakeholders such as the Ministry of
Health and the Pharmaceutical Society of Zambia (PSZ) - the professional
association, developed and implemented a four-year undergraduate Bachelor
of Pharmacy (Bpharm.).

11.  Despite global trends and shifts in models of pharmaceutical education at the
time tilting towards the Master of Pharmacy (M.Pharm.) degree offered at
universities in United Kingdom (UK) and Europe on the one hand and the
 Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree offered in United States of America
(USA),
 Zambia’s basis of adopting the B.Pharm. model was arguably based on two
key fundamentals
 Firstly, the in-country context of needs at the time and secondly the
prevailing qualifications level descriptors of higher education in Zambia

12.  The B.Pharm. curriculum implemented in Zambia is structurally focused
towards pharmaceutical care competencies developed from pharmaceutical
science disciplines that address four key thematic areas .
 The B.Pharm. curriculum developed at UNZA was accredited by the HPCZ -
the statutory regulator of health professionals as established by legislation.
 It is the same curriculum model that has been adapted by Lusaka Apex
Medical University (LAMU) which commence

13. Evelyn Hone college of applied Arts (EHC)
 For over 50yrs,(EHC) has been contributing greatly to quality training to local and international students
 It was established with a multi purpose mandate in training Pharmacy technologists for the health sector in the
country.
 A good number of pharmaceutical personnel in the country have gone through this training ,
 Others---upgrading mainly from unza and other upcoming universities

14. Objectives of the Bpharm Programme
 To produce pharmacists who possess knowledge, attitudes, skills and
professionalism to address the current and emerging pharmaceutical care
needs of patients and the public.
 Outcome Competences Expected of the Trained Pharmacist:

15. Societies associated with Pharmacy in
Zambia
 The Pharmaceutical Society of Zambia
 The Pharmaceutical Society of Zambia was born in 1980 and its continued
activity is a credit to the pharmacy profession in Zambia.
 Hospital Pharmacy association Of Zambia (HOPAZ)

16. Hospital Pharmacy in Zambia
 Prior to the localized pharmacy degree training, all pharmacists were trained
from overseas training institutions of different countries
 Successful candidates worked with locally trained pharm techs from the early
1970s
 Preparations for the local degree started in 1999 and started in 2001
 The country had an insufficient number of trained personnel for a long time
 A negative effect on the overall performance of the hospital pharmacy was
evident

17. Hospital Pharmacy
 As a result of poor pharmaceutical Service , drug delivery system for Zambia
became almost nonexistence
 Efforts at drug policy development in Zambia stated
 1995---evident that the credibility and effectiveness of the health reforms
was at stake if drug issues were not addressed appropriately
 1998----through the ministry of health, the official Government document was
produced---
 Zambia National Drug Policy
 Pharmaceutical services in terms of hospital pharmacy started improving

18. References
 Brief biography of pharmacy training in zambia, longwani
mungo phd,2015
 Aubrey chichonyi kalungia1*, lungwani tyson muungo1,
sarah marshall2, bugewa apampa3, claire may4, Derick
Munkombwe Training of pharmacists in Zambia:
Developments, curriculum structure and future
perspectives