The economic decline being experienced in the country continues to plunge the ordinary citizens further in the deep trenches of poverty making it next to impossible for them to access basic medication.
The Zim Morning Post carried out a snap-survey around the Central Business District to check the basic prices of some of the ‘must’ have medications at home and it was evident that all pharmacies have long dollarised their drugs vis-a-vis a staggering RTGS $8.5 being equivalent to a USD $1.
A middle aged woman (name withheld) who had found herself in need of pain stop tablets while running errands in town left one pharmacy empty handed as four tablets were priced at RTGS$8 which she could not afford.
Other alternatives like the Ibuprofen as well as the Paracetamol were also going for USD$1.
The survey showed the following price ranges, 30 tablets of Nifedipine for blood pressure going for USD$3 and one tube of tetracycline eye drop going for USD$2.
Of the number of selected drugs which were quoted, 21 tablets of Metronidazole was the most priced as one pharmacy pegged it at a staggering USD$24.50 which is RTGS$ 280.25, almost half the salary being earned by the average worker.
The plights of the ordinary man rages on as they try to survive amongst ever increasing basic commodities and shortage of these basic drugs in government institutions which are almost always tightly packed with very little to offer.
In the dollarised era, becoming sick has become so expensive people are now resorting to buying other drugs like Ibuprofen from street vendors without really taking into consideration the health hazards thereof.