South Africa's health department seeks alternative medicines amid drug shortages
As essential medications face shortages, South Africa's health department is on a mission to secure alternatives.
South Africa's national health department is actively seeking alternative medications to address a shortage of essential drugs. The issue stems from various factors, including geopolitical tensions and non-compliance with regulatory standards by some local manufacturers, as stated by Foster Mohale, a spokesperson for the National Department of Health.
The department is working with suppliers to procure alternative medicines to lessen the impact on patients, who may be temporarily switched to clinically appropriate alternatives until supply issues are resolved. The Democratic Alliance has expressed concerns over shortages of up to 50 critical medicines, warning of potential adverse reactions or patients discontinuing their treatments.
They have called for an investigation by Parliament's Health Committee to review the causes of the shortages and the measures being taken to protect patients. The affected medications include amlodipine, rosuvastatin, metformin, olanzapine, pregabalin, and mebendazole, which treat conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, mental disorders, nerve pain, seizures, and intestinal worm infections.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
