KZN shifts stocks and uses alternatives to manage medicine shortages

The KwaZulu‑Natal Department of Health says external supply chain disruptions are the primary cause of occasional medicine shortages in public healthcare facilities, and officials described steps the province is taking to maintain continuity of care.

Shortages blamed on supply chain problems

KZN Health officials told IOL that shortages are driven by problems further back in the supply chain, not by a failure to purchase medicines. Nomagugu Simelane, the province’s Health MEC, said suppliers sometimes do not have the finished product or the ingredients needed for manufacturing. She noted that medicines often contain multiple ingredients sourced from different countries and that manufacturers can be unable to produce certain pills when those ingredients are unavailable.

How the province is managing limited stock

To reduce patient impact, the province is managing available stock by redistributing supplies between hospitals and clinics and by using therapeutic alternatives when a primary medicine is unavailable. Provincial Pharmaceutical Supply Depot manager Thandeka Njapha said the department has been receiving lower quantities than required for some medicines and is working with other provinces and alternate suppliers to bridge gaps.

Examples of affected medicines

Njapha identified Phenobarbital (an epilepsy medicine) as one of the products currently affected. She said a circular from the National Department of Health noted the problem is not limited to KZN. Njapha said that when Phenobarbital is unavailable, clinicians can use other therapeutic options to treat patients.

She also named Rifampicin (used for tuberculosis) as facing supply challenges and said there is an alternative drug that can be used in its place. Njapha added that specific contraceptive pills have been affected by low supply, but other contraceptive methods including injections and implants remain available, and not all types of pills are out of stock.

Suppliers and timelines

Njapha said some stock was sourced from alternate suppliers when available. She added that most suppliers have promised that stock would return and that, for several items, suppliers indicated the situation would be back to normal by July.

“Sometimes, when we want the medicine or pill, it turns out that the manufacturer doesn’t have it, or those who ordered it from overseas ran out of their order, or whatever happened,” Simelane said.

Njapha described additional measures: “We redistribute; we borrow from each other, even across provinces. We can go to another province and share because we are all facing the same problem.”

Maintaining care while supplies are constrained

Both officials stressed that therapeutic alternatives and stock-sharing arrangements are being used to ensure patients continue to receive treatment while suppliers work to restore normal deliveries.