By JOWIT SALUSEKI-
THE African continent and Zambia in particular is said to be sitting on a veritable of non-communicable diseases(NCDs) time bomb,  with cardiovascular diseases such as diabetes, obesity, oncology  and smoking related illnesses becoming increasingly prevalent.
With much of the emphasis given to diseases such as malaria and HIV and AIDS, a gap on other diseases was left, but after months of planing , Astra Zeneca  a Swedish pharmaceuticals company  which officially became in operational in Zambia recently  has come on board to provide  medical expertise on pharmaceutics on NCDs in the country.
The coming of Astra Zeneca  as one of only a handful of  pharmaceutical companies to span the entire value chain of medicine from discovery, early and late development,  to manufacturing and distribution, as well as the global commercialisation of primary health  care and speciality care medicines that transform lives, we will enable many people to have access to unmet medical needs.
The company aims to focus on providing cardiovascular, respiratory  and gastro-intestinal drugs to the Zambian market  and  hopes  to  keep expanding its product portfolio to cover diseases like oncology and diabetes.
Speaking recently during  the launch of Astra Zeneca in Lusaka at  the residence of Swedish Ambassador, Secretary to the Cabinet  Roland Msiska extolled the Swedish government for  its continued support and  partnership to the health sector in Zambia.
Astra Zeneca, a Swedish pharmaceuticals company, whose focus is on providing cardiovascular, respiratory and gastrointestinal drugs to the Zambian market.
Dr Msiska  says the company had come at the right time when the country was experiencing a burden on non-communicable diseases.
He says  the coming of the company was a plus to economic development as more jobs will be created  for the Zambian population.
He hoped that a long partnership will be created  by Astra Zeneca in order to  create collaborative research with various health institutions in the country, especially with the infrastructure development taking shape at University Teaching  Hospital.
‘’ With the upgrading of  infrastructure that is going on at UTH, Astra Zeneca  has come at the right time since our friends from Malawi are also planning of sending their health personnel  to different fields  to train in Zambia’’, says Dr Msiska.
Speaking at the same event , Swedish Ambassador to Zambia  Lena Nordstrom noted that a new phase of Swedish business had been initiated, a move that will trigger Swedish health and life science companies from becoming increasingly interested in doing business in sub-Saharan  African countries  beyond its traditional market of South Africa.
Ambassador Nordstrom explained  that during the past year, three business delegations  specialised in life sciences from Sweden led by the Ministers of Health and State respectively visited  Zambia, with the last delegation  in which Astra Zeneca travelled out to the Copperbelt and North-western Province to learn the  interests of both  public and private health institutions.
‘‘ Sweden is a country rich in both life science history and opportunity as well as a strong innovative power and our economy is innovation driven. Sweden has today around 800 companies in the life science sector with more than 30,000 employees in our country ’’,  Ambassador Nordstrom said.
She stated that life science companies account for 20 per cent of Sweden’s export, accounting for 0.7 per cent of the global pharmaceutical industry, stressing that the country spends  3.6 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health research and development.
AstraZeneca vice-president for Sub-Saharan Africa Gustavo Fernandes says his firm is hoping to partner with local health care practitioners and larger medical community in the hope of gaining a deeper understanding of the medical challenges facing the country and looked forward to sharing and collaborating with the Zambian Government .
‘‘ As a global biopharmaceutical company, we touch many people’s lives by providing innovative medicines for some of the world’s most serious diseases. We are inspired and optimistic that we now find ourselves in a position where we can bring our health solutions to the people of Zambia, meaningful  solutions  that will help us deliver our promise of better health for all’’, said Fernandes.
Founded in 1913,  Astra AB which in 1999 merged with the UK company Zeneca, is a global pharmaceutical company that spends more than $4billion per year on research and development in the health sector.
The firm  has a work force of  about 57 000 employees and  is  operational in more than 16 countries, with  a  presence in 11 Sub Saharan countries  such as Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia , Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda,  Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa.
Stakeholders are hoping with the coming of AstraZeneca, will enable the country to offer better life savings solutions to its citizens on non-communicable diseases  such as diabetes, hypertension and other ailments that have continued to ravage many people.