The SADC Pharmaceutical Business Plan 2007-2013 aims at ensuring availability of essential medicines, including African traditional medicines, in order to reduce disease burden in countries. Within this context, Zambia has collaborated with WHO in the collection and analysis of data on it's pharmaceutical situation. This information will be used as a baseline before embarking on the implementation of the Pharmaceutical Business Plan, and will be used: to take stock of the pharmaceutical situation and identify areas in need of strengthening and support; to compare results with those of other countries fostering a sharing of experiences and enabling identification of strengths and opportunities for cooperation; and to measure over time the impact of the support provided by the SADC Secretariat, WHO and other partners.