By REGINALD KANYANE
29 September 2026 – Many patients have raised concerns regarding shortages of medication in various healthcare facilities across the North West. It is alleged that the healthcare facilities are grappling with shortage of medication and that has a negative impact on their health.
One of the patients who refused to be named for fear of reprisal said: “I am a diabetic patient and recently visited a local clinic. However, I was told that I could not get any medication because the clinic was out -of-stock. Remember, medication shortages cause delayed treatments, increased health risks and higher financial costs for patients.”
“Patients often miss doses, postpone treatments, or go without critical therapies entirely, which can cause diseases to worsen or lead to treatment failure. So, I urge the North West Department of Health to fix this before it is too late,” she said.
Meanwhile, the North West MEC for Health, Sello Lehari said they would like to assure patients that intermittent medicine supply constraints affecting some facilities and medicines are being actively addressed through provincial and national interventions. Lehari said his department issued the clarification amid growing public concern about the availability of medicines, particularly chronic medication, following reports of patients struggling to access their prescribed treatment.
He further said the challenges could not be attributed to a single factor or solely to the provincial health department, pointing to disruptions across the pharmaceutical supply chain. Lehari added that factors contributing to supply pressures include manufacturing disruptions, shortages of raw materials, increased international demand, transport delays, rising freight and logistics costs, regulatory interventions and changes to pharmaceutical procurement contracts.
“The national HP09-2026SD Solid Dosage Forms contract also contains non-awarded items. Of the items considered, 243 were awarded while 41 were not awarded. A supplementary tender has been advertised and is scheduled to close on 28 September 2026, to address outstanding supply requirements.
“Regulatory enforcement action involving WRAPSA has also had wider implications across pharmaceutical contracts and potentially affects 79 contracted items, according to the department. The National Department of Health has established mechanisms including the Improved Medicine Availability Team and the national medicine “Hot List” to monitor shortages, identify their causes and track remedial action,” he said.
Lehari said at provincial level, they are monitoring stock levels, facility requirements and outstanding orders while working with the Medical Depot, suppliers and the National Department of Health on redistribution, alternative sourcing and clinically appropriate therapeutic alternatives. He stressed that a temporary shortage of a particular medicine does not necessarily mean that a patient will be left without treatment.
“Where an approved supplier, brand or pack size is unavailable, healthcare professionals may, where clinically appropriate, dispense an equivalent medicine containing the same active ingredient and strength or use an approved therapeutic alternative.
“Patients have been urged not to stop taking chronic medication or change their treatment without consulting a healthcare professional. The medicine continuity was particularly important for patients living with conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, HIV and epilepsy,” said Lehari.
He also highlighted the Central Chronic Medicines Dispensing and Distribution programme, which allows stable patients receiving chronic treatment to collect medicines from designated collection points closer to their homes or workplaces. Lehari said his department acknowledged statements alleging that patients were routinely being turned away from health facilities because of medicine shortages.
“Individual patient experiences should not be dismissed and cases where patients could not obtain prescribed medication should be investigated. However, broad claims about provincial medicine availability should be distinguished from verified stock data and the specific circumstances of individual medicines, facilities and periods.
“Medicine availability is dynamic. A facility could temporarily run out of a particular product, while another approved manufacturer’s product or clinically appropriate alternative remained available elsewhere in the system,” he said.
Lehari said the department was strengthening stock visibility and management to identify emerging shortages earlier and ensure available medicines were distributed according to patient need.
