JOHANNESBURG - There are growing concerns over medicine shortages in South Africa.
The medicines reportedly affected include epilepsy medication, folic acid, contraceptives and various antibiotics, some of which have allegedly been out of stock for months.
Chairperson of the Pharmaceutical Task Group, Dr Stavros Nicolaou, says there is no need to panic at this stage.
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“There are some shortages that are being managed,” he says.
Nicolaou says manufacturing challenges are among the reasons for the medicine shortages in South Africa.
“As a manufacturing industry, our primary concern is always that patients have access to quality medicines,” says Nicolaou.
He says manufacturers must balance the economic viability of ongoing medicine production with the needs of patients.
Production costs have increased significantly, largely due to the Middle East Gulf oil crisis. Nicolaou says the cost of producing some medicines has increased by between 30% and 40%.
“The pharmaceutical industry got a 1.4 percent increase in January that has not kept pace with the increase in costs,” he adds.
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Nicolaou says the industry is engaging with the government to ensure that medicine shortages are managed.
A second factor contributing to the shortages is the closure of some facilities due to compliance issues.
A third issue is the loss of local manufacturing capacity in South Africa, which has affected production volumes and disrupted supply.