WESTERN CAPE. – Mireille Wenger, Western Cape health minister, has called on Barbara Creecy, the national transport minister, to urgently investigate possible bottlenecks at South African ports that may be delaying the supply of essential medicines to public health institutions.
Robyn Thomson, spokesperson for the Cape department, says Wenger asked in a letter to Creecy that the processing and transport of imported medicines be prioritised, particularly at the Durban port, where concerns about delays exist. The exact nature of the delays has not yet been established, but the Western Cape department wants the authorities involved, terminal operators and other stakeholders to work urgently to identify and address possible obstacles.
Imported medicines must undergo strict quality tests after arrival in South Africa before they can be distributed to health institutions. This process can take between three and four weeks. Wenger emphasises that the necessary safety tests must not be skipped, but that avoidable delays in the supply chain must be limited.
The Western Cape government is already trying to address medicine shortages and has previously discussed the issue with Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, national health minister. The shortages are attributed to, among other things, manufacturing constraints, disruption of international shipping, overdue orders from suppliers, procurement problems and regulatory delays.
According to Wenger, health teams are doing their best to manage the unpredictable availability of medicines by obtaining alternatives and redistributing available stock between institutions. She says these measures are becoming increasingly difficult as shortages continue, and that cooperation between government and industry is needed to protect patients' access to essential medicines.
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This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
