The Central Medical Stores Trust (CMST) says it will soon commence production of hand sanitizers as one way of fighting Covid-19 pandemic in the country. 

According to the Trust’s Director of Finance and Administration, Washington Kaimvi, CMST has been producing other medical products which are supplied to the country’s hospitals.

Kaimvi said: “This is a facility which the Trust inherited from government when it was established, so we just want to utilise the resource as one way of fighting the pandemic in the country.”

In an interview after having an interface with the Parliamentary Cluster on Health and HIV/AIDS, Kaimvi said once the Pharmacy and Medicines Regulatory Authority (PMRA) authorises the Trust, production will kick off.

“Trials have already been done and samples have been submitted to PMRA for approval and once approved the production of hand sanitizers will be rolled and the products will be sold to public hospitals and other customers,” he said.

Meanwhile, co-chairperson of the Cluster, Darlington Harawa, has described the move as a progressive step towards reducing over reliance on government.

He said the initiative will be an income generating intervention which will reduce the dependency syndrome.