The North West Department of Health has introduced targeted measures to improve medicine availability across healthcare facilities following a decline in provincial medicine stocks.
According to the Department, medicine availability dropped from 84% to 81% during the second quarter of the 2026/27 financial year, largely due to stockouts and supply disruptions.
The Department said it had prioritised the issue through a dedicated medicine availability turnaround strategy, supported by pharmacist-led interventions and regular progress monitoring.
Recent figures from Bojanala District show some improvement. The availability of essential medicines increased from 78% last week to 80% this week.
Epilepsy medicine availability also improved from 70% to 75%, while contraceptive availability rose from 71% to 73%. Further improvements in contraceptive supplies are expected over the coming weeks.
However, the availability of antiretroviral (ARV) medicines, tuberculosis (TB) medicines and vaccines remained unchanged during the latest reporting period.
Health MEC Sello Lehari has welcomed the interventions, stressing that access to medicines is essential to providing quality healthcare.
“The availability of medicines is fundamental to delivering quality healthcare and ensuring that patients receive the treatment they need,” Lehari said.
He acknowledged the concerns experienced by patients and healthcare professionals when medicines are unavailable.
Lehari said the Department was intensifying efforts through improved stock monitoring, the redistribution of available medicines between facilities, engagement with suppliers and prioritised payments to suppliers whose accounts had been placed on hold.
The Department’s turnaround plan also includes accelerating medicine distribution from depots to hospitals, ensuring constrained stock is allocated fairly and holding regular medicine availability meetings.
It will also assign clear responsibilities and timeframes for corrective action, consider clinically appropriate alternative medicines where necessary, and review facility stock levels according to patient numbers and disease profiles.
The Department said it was monitoring supplier performance and working to reduce the impact of supply disruptions across healthcare facilities.
It added that challenges affecting the management of chronic non-communicable diseases were being experienced nationally and were not limited to the North West.
Patients who experience medicine shortages have been urged to consult healthcare professionals so that suitable alternatives or collection arrangements can be considered.
The Department warned patients not to stop taking or change their treatment without professional medical advice.
