South Africa: Diabetes | Elderly Limpopo Couple Skip Diabetes Medication As Clinic Stockouts Strain Their Pensions
[Health-e] Elderly couple travels between health facilities searching for chronic diabetes medication. When public facilities run out, they spend more than R1,000 on medicine at private pharmacies. Limpopo Health Department acknowledges medicine supply challenges.
An 85-year-old and his 67-year-old wife in Sebayeng village, Limpopo, struggle to find their diabetes medication when their local clinic faces stockouts. Both Simon Seshibe and his wife Rahab depend on chronic medication to manage their Type 2 diabetes and hypertension. The couple has to travel to other clinics, sometimes paying up to R1,000 for medication and R400 for petrol, putting a strain on their limited pension income.
Missed doses during these shortages leave Rahab with severe thirst and Simon with fatigue and frequent urination. The Seshibes are not alone in facing medicine shortages; other elderly patients, like 76-year-old Mapula Dikgale, also report difficulties accessing chronic medication, often having to travel long distances without transport money.
The Limpopo Health Department acknowledges these supply challenges, attributing them to factors like supply-chain disruptions, procurement issues, and market-related constraints. The department is actively seeking alternative medicines to alleviate the impact on patients.
Written by urgent.news from Health-e News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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