By BAKANG MOKOTO
3 November 2026 – The North West Department of Health has intensified interventions to improve the availability of medicines at healthcare facilities across the province amid ongoing national and provincial supply constraints. During the second quarter of the 2026/2027 financial year, provincial medicine availability declined from 84% to 81%, largely due to medicine stockouts and supply disruptions.
The North West MEC for Health, Sello Lehari said his department has prioritised the challenge through a dedicated medicine availability turnaround strategy, supported by pharmacist-led interventions and regular progress monitoring. Lehari said the latest district update shows encouraging improvements in Bojanala District, where the availability of essential medicines increased from 78% last week to 80% this week.
“The availability of epilepsy medicines improved from 70% to 75%, while contraceptive availability increased from 71% to 73%. Further improvements in contraceptive availability are expected in the coming weeks.
“However, the availability of antiretroviral (ARV) medicines, tuberculosis (TB) medicines and vaccines remained unchanged during the latest reporting period,” he said.
Lehari further said medicine availability was fundamental to delivering quality healthcare and ensuring that patients received the treatment they needed. He added that the availability of medicines is fundamental to delivering quality healthcare and ensuring that patients receive the treatment they need.
“We recognise the concerns experienced by patients and healthcare professionals when medicines are unavailable. We are therefore intensifying our efforts to strengthen medicine availability through improved stock monitoring, the redistribution of available medicines between facilities, engagement with suppliers, and the prioritisation of payments to suppliers whose accounts have been placed on hold.
“Our focus is to ensure that available resources are used effectively and that facilities experiencing the greatest challenges receive the necessary support,” said Lehari.
He said the department’s turnaround plan includes accelerating the distribution of medicines from depots to hospitals, ensuring the equitable allocation of limited stock, conducting regular medicine availability meetings and assigning clear responsibilities and timeframes for corrective action. Lehari said his department is also exploring clinically appropriate alternative medicines, where necessary, reviewing facility stock levels according to patient numbers and disease profiles, and monitoring supplier performance.
“These interventions are aimed at reducing the impact of supply disruptions while strengthening medicine management across all levels of healthcare.
“The department further acknowledged that medicine supply constraints affecting the treatment of chronic non-communicable diseases are being experienced nationally,” he said.
Lehari said while these challenges require coordinated action across the health sector, healthcare professionals have been advised to consider actual local stock levels when determining the quantities of medicines to prescribe or dispense, particularly where routine multi-month dispensing could place additional pressure on limited supplies. He said patients have been urged to consult their nurses, pharmacists or doctors if their prescribed medicines are unavailable so that appropriate alternatives or collection arrangements can be considered.
“The department cautioned patients against stopping or changing their treatment without seeking professional medical advice. We reaffirm that the department’s commitment to improving medicine availability and strengthening the reliability of the provincial medicine supply chain.
“We will continue working with national health authorities, suppliers, pharmacy teams and healthcare facilities to address supply challenges and monitor progress,” said Lehari.
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