South Africa's health department seeks alternative medicines amid drug shortages - IOL

As essential medications face shortages, South Africa's health department is on a mission to secure alternatives.

There is currently a shortage of critical medication across South Africa.

In the face of a shortage of essential medications, the National Health Department is actively pursuing and acquiring alternative medicines.

Foster Mohale, a spokesperson for the National Department of Health, told IOL that a number of factors, including geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and, in certain cases, local manufacturers' non-compliance with the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority's (SAHPRA) regulatory requirements, are responsible for the current supply challenges.

“The Department has been actively engaging with suppliers and is procuring alternative medicines from other sources to minimise the impact on patients. In the interim, some patients may be temporarily switched to clinically appropriate alternative medicines for the same conditions until the supply constraints are resolved,” Mohale said. 

He said the Department will continue to monitor the situation closely and work with all relevant stakeholders to restore normal supply levels as soon as possible. 

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has also raised concerns about shortages of the up to 50 critical medicines, warning that patients could experience adverse reactions to replacement drugs or stop taking their treatment altogether.

The party has urged Parliament’s Health Committee to investigate the extent of the shortages, their causes and the measures being taken to protect patients.

DA spokesperson on Health Michele Clarke said she had requested a special committee meeting and wants Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, the Department of Health, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), Pharmaceuticals Made In South Africa (Pharmisa) and the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa to appear before the committee.

Clarke said patients could face risks if they had to switch to alternative medication.

“A considerable risk is that some patients might experience adverse reactions to the replacement medications, and an overarching risk that concerns the DA very much is that some patients might be fearful of replacement medication or confused by replacements and then stop their treatment,” she said.

The medicines include amlodipine, used to treat high blood pressure and prevent angina; rosuvastatin, which treats high cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes; and metformin, used to manage type 2 diabetes.

The list also includes olanzapine, used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, particularly episodes of mania; pregabalin, which treats nerve pain, seizures and anxiety disorders; and mebendazole, which treats intestinal worm infections.