The Minister of Health (MISAU) said yesterday that Mozambique has the capacity to reduce external dependence on medicines, as well as supplying some countries in the region.

"We have the conditions in the country to solve our people's main health problems. I found a production line for medicines that responds to our country's disease profile," said Ussene Isse.

The Minister made the statements during a visit to two drug production centers, the National Medicines Factory and Infarma, with the potential to produce a hundred types of medicines, in the city of Matola, Maputo province.

"The medicines factory will help to reduce our dependence on foreign countries, but also to be able to export to neighboring countries because it has quality," he said.

According to the head of the department, even before the US support was blocked, the country had enough stock to last nine months. "Now, with the relief, we're calm."

He pointed out that the local production seen in the production units provides some comfort to meet the needs of the population.

"So as far as the quantity of medicines is concerned, we're comfortable," he said, noting that "the challenge is to get them into the patient's mouth".

The two production units have the capacity to produce 370 million units of drugs a year.