Addressing Consumer Concerns in the Health Care Sector in Zambia A CUTS and Muvi TV Partnership

About the project

Not a day would pass without there being news regarding defective, substandard and poor services which consumers in Zambia are being subjected to. One sector which has been prone to consumer abuses is the health care sector. Access to affordable and quality health care services are part of the inherent human rights which every human being is entitled to. Often in cases where there could be access to quality, affordable health care, the services tend to be compromised as the recipients get entangled in a vicious cycle involving anti-competitive and unfair trading practices of some commercially motivated health practitioners, who compromise medical treatment to maximize personal gains. On the other hand, irresponsible consumption of medical products and services has the potential to undermine governments’ efforts aimed at having efficient health outcomes in Zambia. The need therefore to have well tailored awareness generation interventions to build an informed citizenry on their consumer rights and responsibilities on health issues remains key for Zambia.
It is from this context that Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) International and Muvi Television have launched a rigorous awareness generation campaign on consumer rights and responsibilities on health care products and services. The campaign tries mainly to compliment governments efforts envisaged to deliver an efficient health care system in Zambia through addressing day to day practical challenges which consumers face when consuming health related products and services.