The week starting 17 June 2018 was a dark one for the city of Choma as one of the great sons of the city Mr. Daniel Munkombwe had just passed on. Being in a class ( possibly the only one) to have served all post independence governments in Zambia, this was truly a remarkable man. He was the immediate past Minister of the Southern Province of which Choma is the provincial capital. The funeral was attended by the current president of Zambia, H.E Edgar Lungu, first president, Kenneth Kaunda, fourth president Rupiah Banda and other opposition leaders.

This was the same week that Choma Local MeTA Network visited various policy makers and influencers at district level. The purpose of these visits was to share the findings and recommendations of the 2017 Sexual and reproductive health commodities study. Some of the offices visted were the District Commisioner, The provinciaal minister, the mayor, the two MPS as well as the district health offices.

The mayor pledged to work with the local MeTA Network in making sure that issues of accessing affordable srh commodities were a priority. He requested that the team be part of their monthly meetings with the district health offices. Mean while the district health office agreed with the findings and recommendations in the study and they stated that now was the time for implementing solutions.

Access to affordable quality srh commodities for all will only become a reality if all stakeholders work together.