The Health Department says that the medicine shortages should ease soon.

The Chief Director of Health Products Procurement at the National Department of Health, Khadija Jamaloodien, says that South Africa has multi-supplier contracts, but that when one of these runs into an issue, the others need to pick up the slack.

Jamaloodien says that this can cause some strain on the flow of supply. She says that patients must stay in contact with their healthcare facilities for updates on their medication supply.

“Our products come from India, including the active pharmaceutical ingredients. It’s the logistical challenges, getting it here, that has been impacted, that’s causing the delay. Also, the key starting materials that we call the ingredients that go into the ingredients that make the medicine. So that is where we’re also experiencing some delay, also because of those global challenges. But finally, it does come to South Africa via Durban or, they fly it in if it’s like really something that they are in a position to do. Obviously when suppliers fly stock in, it does carry with it additional costs. But we’re managing that situation as well. But the big issue is coming through Durban Port…and that’s just a whole logistical delay, which has a compounding effect in terms of the delays of the stock coming into South Africa.”

– Chief Director of Health Products Procurement at the National Department of Health, Khadija Jamaloodien